Zachary Quinto

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Zachary Quinto
Zachary Quinto SDCC 2014.jpg
Born Zachary John Quinto
(1977-06-02) June 2, 1977 (age 47)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater Carnegie Mellon University
Occupation Actor, producer
Years active 2000–present
Website www.zacharyquinto.com

Zachary John Quinto (born June 2, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for his roles as Sylar on the science fiction drama series Heroes (2006–2010), Spock in the reboot Star Trek (2009) and its sequels Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016) as well as his Emmy nominated performance in American Horror Story: Asylum. He also appeared in smaller roles on television series such as So NoTORIous, The Slap and 24.

Early life

Quinto was born in Pittsburgh, and grew up in Green Tree, Pennsylvania. His mother, Margaret J. "Margo" (née McArdle), worked at an investment firm and later at a magistrate's office. His father, Joseph John "Joe" Quinto, a barber, died of cancer when Quinto was seven years old.[1][2] Quinto and his brother, Joe, were subsequently raised by their mother.[3][4] He grew up Catholic.[5] His father was of Italian descent, while his mother is of Irish ancestry.[6][7] Quinto graduated from Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh) in 1995, where he participated in their musicals and won the Gene Kelly Award for Best Supporting Actor, and then attended Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama, from which he graduated in 1999.[8][9]

Career

Quinto first appeared on television in the short-lived television series The Others, and appeared as a guest star on shows including CSI, Touched by an Angel, Charmed, Six Feet Under, Lizzie McGuire, and L.A. Dragnet. In 2003, during the theatrical run of Endgame by Samuel Beckett, directed by Kristina Lloyd[10] at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles playing the role of Clov,[11] he landed a recurring role as computer expert Adam Kaufman on the Fox series 24; Quinto appeared in 23 episodes of the third season.

Quinto at the premiere party of Heroes' third season in 2008

In 2006, Quinto played the role of Sasan: the haughty, gay Iranian-American best friend of Tori Spelling on her VH1 series So NoTORIous. Later that year, he joined the cast of Heroes as Gabriel Gray, better known as the serial killer Sylar.[12] He worked on the series until its cancellation in 2010 after four seasons.

His casting as a young Spock in the J.J. Abrams-directed reboot of the Star Trek film franchise was officially announced at the 2007 Comic-Con.[13][14]

Speaking alongside Leonard Nimoy at a press conference to promote the new Star Trek film, Quinto revealed that Nimoy had been given casting approval over who would play the role of the young Spock. "For me Leonard's involvement was only liberating, frankly,"[15] says Quinto. "I knew that he had approval over the actor that would play young Spock, so when I got the role I knew from the beginning it was with his blessing."

In a September 2008 interview, Abrams said of Quinto's performance as Spock: "Zachary brought a gravity and an incredible sense of humor, which is a wonderful combination because Spock's character is deceivingly complicated. The revelation for me watching the movie, when I finally got to watch the whole thing after working on sequences, was that he is extraordinary. He was doing things I didn't even realize while we were shooting – these amazing things to track his story."[16] Quinto also made references to Star Trek's historical record for diversity and inclusiveness in its casting and storylines, and said that he hoped the looming election of Barack Obama would build that dynamic towards the film's May 2009 release date.

After Star Trek, he appeared in the comedy short Boutonniere (2009). It "...was a movie written and directed by my former landlady and friend, [actress Coley Sohn]. She called up and said, 'Would you do me a favor and be in my short film?'"[17]

Karl Urban, Quinto, J. J. Abrams, and Chris Pine at the Star Trek Into Darkness Australian movie premiere in Sydney, April 2013

In 2008, Quinto joined with Corey Moosa and Neal Dodson to form Before the Door Pictures.[18] The company has projects in film, television, new media, and the graphic novel arena. In a publishing deal with comic book publisher Archaia, they published a graphic novel called Mr. Murder is Dead, created by writer Victor Quinaz, closely followed by LUCID: A Matthew Dee Adventure written by writer/actor Michael McMillian.[19]

Quinto also starred in several comedy shorts. He played a strangely lovable kidnapper in Hostage: A Love Story, written by the comedy duo HoltandSteele, for Before the Door and FunnyorDie. He also played a prospective dog adopter (based on Quinto's own experience) in Dog Eat Dog, written and directed by Sian Heder, and premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2012.

Quinto has also found time to keep up his theatre experience, which includes roles in a variety of productions, including classics such as Beckett's Endgame at the Los Angeles Odyssey Theatres in 2003,[20] Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival and Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow at the Old Globe Theatre.[21] From October 2010 to February 2011, Quinto played the lead role of Louis Ironson in an Off-Broadway revival of Tony Kushner's Angels in America at the Signature Theatre, New York City.[22][23] For this role, Quinto received the Theatreworld Outstanding Debut Performance award.[24]

Quinto at a Midtown Comics signing in 2011

In 2013, Quinto played the role of Tom Wingfield in the American Repertory Theatre's production of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.[25] He was also in the Broadway reprisal of the production, in 2014.[26] In February 2016, Zachary will appear in the New York premiere of MCC Theater’s Smokefall.[27]

In 2010, Quinto's company Before the Door Pictures produced Margin Call, an independent film about the financial crisis. Quinto played the role of Peter Sullivan in the film, in a cast that included Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci, Penn Badgley and Demi Moore. Margin Call premiered in January 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival.[28] Margin Call received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, by JC Chandor. Quinto has been behind the scenes as executive producer for the next two Chandor films: All Is Lost (2013) with Robert Redford as the sole actor and A Most Violent Year (2014) with Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain.

Not leaving television behind, in October 2011, Quinto began a recurring role on the FX series American Horror Story as Chad, former owner of the house. Quinto returned for the second season in one of the lead roles, as Dr. Oliver Thredson.[29] In 2014, Zachary and his Before the Door partners produced a Chris Moore project, The Chair, a documentary series on Starz that shows the process of two directors bringing their first feature to the screen. In 2015, Quinto was a guest on the acclaimed TV series Girls and Hannibal.

Movie-wise, Quinto has continued his role as Spock in Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013 and in Star Trek Beyond, to be released in 2016. In addition he played John Smith in Hitman: Agent 47 in 2015. At the other end of the spectrum from the action oriented Agent 47, Quinto appears opposite James Franco in the drama I Am Michael, a film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.[30] Quinto also portrays Glenn Greenwald in the Edward Snowden biopic Snowden, due out in May 2016.[31] Quinto narrates as space scientist Pascal Lee in the documentary film Passage To Mars to be released in 2016.,[32] and as himself in the documentary film For the Love of Spock, also to be released in 2016.[33]

He has modeled for magazines including GQ and August.[34][35]

Personal life

Quinto publicly came out as gay in October 2011.[36] He explained that, after the suicide of gay teenager Jamey Rodemeyer, he realized "that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality."[37] Prior to his coming out, Quinto had long been an active supporter of gay rights and organizations, including the Trevor Project.[38] In 2009, he appeared in the one-night production Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, a benefit stage reading in response to the passing of Proposition 8,[39] as well as in the play The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard.[40] In 2010, Quinto contributed a video to the It Gets Better Project, an Internet-based campaign that aims to prevent suicide among LGBT youth.[37] In 2012 Quinto campaigned on behalf of Barack Obama, including appearing in the video Obama Pride: LGBT Americans For Obama.[41]

In 2010, Quinto was rumored to be dating actor Jonathan Groff.[42] In September 2012, Quinto confirmed that he and Groff were in a relationship.[43] In July 2013, it was reported that the two had broken up.[44]

Since 2013, Quinto has been in a relationship with model artist Miles McMillan.[45] In early 2015, the couple moved into an apartment in Manhattan they purchased together.[46][47][48]

Filmography

Film
Year Movie.Title Role Notes
2009 Star Trek Spock
2011 Margin Call Peter Sullivan Also producer
Girl Walks into a Bar Nicolas "Nick"
What's Your Number? Rick
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness Spock
2014 We'll Never Have Paris Jameson
2015 I Am Michael Bennett
Hitman: Agent 47 John Smith
2016 Passage to Mars Pascal Lee Voice
Tallulah Andreas Post-production
Snowden Glenn Greenwald Post-production
Star Trek Beyond Spock Post-production
Aardvark Josh Norma Post-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Others Tony Episode: "Unnamed"
2001 Touched by an Angel Mike Episode: "When Sunny Gets Blue"
2002 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Mitchell Sullivan Episode: "Anatomy of a Lye"
Off Centre Smudge Episode: "Diddler on the Roof"
Lizzie McGuire Director Episode: "Party Over Here"
Haunted Paul Kingsley Episode: "Grievous Angels"
The Agency Jay Lambert Episode: "Air Lex"
2003 Six Feet Under Hip Student Episode: "The Eye Inside"
Charmed Warlock Episode: "Cat House"
Miracles Messenger Episode: "Battle at Shadow Ridge"
2003–2004 24 Adam Kaufman 23 episodes
2004 Dragnet Howard Simms Episode: "Frame of Mind"
2004 Hawaii Loomis Episode: "No Man Is an Island"
Joan of Arcadia Pretentious Filmmaker God Episode: "P.O.V."
2005 Blind Justice Scott Collins Episode: "In Your Face"
2006 Crossing Jordan Leo Fulton, Jr. Episode: "Code of Ethics"
Twins Jason Episode: "When I Move, You Move"
So NoTORIous Sasan 10 episodes
2006–2010 Heroes Sylar 60 episodes
2008 Robot Chicken Archimedes Q. Porter / Sylar (voice) Episode: "Bionic Cow"
2011 American Horror Story: Murder House Chad Warwick 4 episodes
2012–2013 American Horror Story: Asylum Oliver Thredson 12 episodes
2014 The Chair[49] Himself 10 episodes
2015 The Slap Harry Apostolou 7 episodes
Girls Ace 2 episodes
Hannibal Neal Frank 2 episodes
Video games
Year Title Voice role
2000 Code Blue Monty Rodriguez
2006 24: The Game Adam Kaufman
2010 Star Trek Online Khitomer Emergency Medical Hologram
2013 Star Trek Spock

Awards and nominations

Year Award Work Result
1994 Gene Kelly Award for Best Supporting Actor The Pirates of Penzance Won
1995 Gene Kelly Award for Best Lead Actor 1776 Nominated
2007 TV Land Award for Future Classic Award Heroes Won
Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Villain Nominated
2008 Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Villain Nominated
2009 Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Villain Nominated
Teen Choice Award for Best Rumble (shared with Chris Pine) Star Trek Nominated
Critics' Choice Award for Best Cast Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Won
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Ensemble Nominated
2010 People's Choice Award for Favorite Breakout Movie Actor Nominated
SFX Award for Best Actor Heroes, Star Trek Won
2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Angels in America Nominated
Theatre World Award Won
Tina Award for Best Actor (Play) Won
Tina Award for Best Ensemble (Play) Won
Tina Award for Best Stage Duo (shared with Christian Borle) Won
Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Performance Margin Call Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting Nominated
2012 Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble Nominated
AACTA International Award for Best Film (as producer) Nominated
Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature (as producer) Won
Robert Altman Award Won
Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television American Horror Story Nominated
2013 Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries American Horror Story: Asylum Won
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated
PAAFTJ Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie N/A
PAAFTJ Television Award for Best Cast in a Miniseries or TV Movie N/A
People's Choice Award Favorite Movie Duo (shared with Chris Pine) Star Trek Into Darkness Nominated
Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Ensemble The Glass Menagerie Won
2014 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance Nominated
Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for Favorite Leading Actor in a Play Nominated
BroadwayWorld.com Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play Nominated

References

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  17. Lovece, Frank. "Zachary Quinto is 'Spock' in new 'Star Trek'", Newsday.com, May 6, 2009. Extended online version of print article, p. B4
  18. Owen,Rob . "A Stars Trek'", April 2009. Archived December 10, 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  19. Before The Door Pictures official website, July 2009. Archived October 28, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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  26. Broadway's Glass Menagerie recoups investment, nytimes.com, January 7, 2014; accessed May 26, 2015.
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  30. I Am Michael
  31. Tom Wilkinson and Zachary Quinto to appear in Snowden, theguardian.com; accessed May 26, 2015.
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External links

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