Zachary Quinto
Encyclopedia
Zachary John Quinto is an American actor and producer. Quinto grew up in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 and was active in high school musical theater. In the early 2000s he guest starred in television series and appeared in a recurring role in the serial drama 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...

 from 2003 to 2004. In 2006, Quinto acted in the sitcom So NoTORIous
So NoTORIous
So NoTORIous is an American sitcom on VH1, loosely based on the life of actress Tori Spelling. The series debuted on April 2, 2006 and despite lasting only ten episodes, received substantial acclaim from critics.-Premise:...

 and portrayed series antagonist Sylar
Sylar
Gabriel Gray, more commonly known by his assumed name of Sylar , is one of the primary antagonists and antiheroes in the NBC drama Heroes. Portrayed by Zachary Quinto, he is a superpowered serial killer who targets other superhumans in order to steal their powers...

 in the science fiction drama Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...

 from 2006 to 2010. He was cast as Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...

 of the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

 franchise and appeared in the 2009 reboot Star Trek. He will continue the role in the 2013 sequel Star Trek 2
Star Trek 2 (2013 film)
Star Trek XII is a planned film sequel to 2009's Star Trek currently untitled and in the pre-production stages. The sci-fi action film is scheduled to enter production in January 2012 and is due to be directed by J.J. Abrams.-Development:...

.

Early life

Quinto, who is of half-Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

 and half-Irish descent, was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in Green Tree, Pennsylvania
Green Tree, Pennsylvania
Green Tree is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 4,432 at the 2010 census.The town is the birthplace of U.S...

, with his mother Margo and his brother Joe. His father, John, who was a barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....

, died of cancer when Quinto was 7 years old. He graduated from Central Catholic High School
Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Central Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school for boys in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and is administrated and partially staffed by the Brothers of the Christian Schools....

 in 1995, where he participated in their musicals and won the Gene Kelly Award
Gene Kelly Awards
The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater, named after the actor/director Gene Kelly, are given out yearly by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and the University of Pittsburgh. The award was founded in 1991 and celebrates excellence in the musicals of the Pittsburgh...

 for Best Supporting Actor, and then attended Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

's School of Drama
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
The Carnegie Mellon School of Drama is the oldest degree-granting drama program in the United States, founded in 1914 as a division of the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

, from which he graduated in 1999.

Career

Quinto first appeared on television in the short-lived television series The Others
The Others (TV series)
The Others is an American TV series created by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, and produced by Delusional Films, NBC and DreamWorks Television. It ran for 13 40-minute episodes from February 5, 2000 to June 10, 2000, airing on NBC in the US, Five in the UK and Nine in Australia...

, and appeared as a guest star on shows including CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...

, Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...

, Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...

, Six Feet Under, Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire is an American teen sitcom which premiered on the Disney Channel on January 12, 2001 and ended February 14, 2004. A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired. Its target demographic was preteens and adolescents...

, and L.A. Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...

. In 2003, he landed a recurring role as computer expert Adam Kaufman on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 series 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...

; Quinto appeared in 23 episodes of the third season.

In 2006, Quinto played the role of Sasan, the haughty, gay Iranian-American best friend of Tori Spelling
Tori Spelling
Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling is an American actress. Spelling became known in the early 1990s for her role as Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210. Spelling then had roles in a string of made-for-television films, such as A Friend to Die For and Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?...

 on her VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 series So NoTORIous
So NoTORIous
So NoTORIous is an American sitcom on VH1, loosely based on the life of actress Tori Spelling. The series debuted on April 2, 2006 and despite lasting only ten episodes, received substantial acclaim from critics.-Premise:...

. Later that year, he joined the cast of Tim Kring's Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...

 as Gabriel Gray, better known as the serial killer Sylar
Sylar
Gabriel Gray, more commonly known by his assumed name of Sylar , is one of the primary antagonists and antiheroes in the NBC drama Heroes. Portrayed by Zachary Quinto, he is a superpowered serial killer who targets other superhumans in order to steal their powers...

. He worked in this series until it was cancelled in 2010, after four seasons.

His casting as a young Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...

 in the J. J. Abrams
J. J. Abrams
Jeffrey Jacob "J. J." Abrams is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, director, actor, and composer. He wrote and produced feature films before co-creating the television series Felicity...

-directed reboot of the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

 film franchise was officially announced at the 2007 Comic-Con. Speaking alongside Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....

 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," 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, Star Trek director 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."

Following 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?'"
Quinto has joined with Corey Moosa and Neal Dodson to form Before the Door Pictures. The company is working on projects in film, television, new media, and the graphic novel arena. It announced a three-book publishing deal with comic book publisher Archaia at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. The first project from the partnership is expected to be a 100-page graphic novel called Mr. Murder is Dead, created by writer Victor Quinaz. It will be followed by the comic book series LUCID: A Matthew Dee Adventure written by writer/actor Michael McMillian
Michael McMillian
Michael McMillian is an American actor and writer, known for his roles as Henry Gibson on What I Like About You and Steve Newlin on the HBO series True Blood...

.

Quinto's theatre experience includes roles in a variety of productions, including Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....

 at the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival and Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow at the Old Globe Theatre
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...

.
Baseline Studio Systems announced in January 2010 that Steven Spielberg may direct a biopic about George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...

, which is scheduled for release in 2012, with Quinto confirmed for the lead role. From October, 2010 to February 2011, Quinto played the lead role of Louis Ironson in an Off-Broadway revival of Tony Kushner
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...

's Angels in America
Angels in America
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winning play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eötvös.-Characters:...

 at the Signature Theatre, New York, NY. For this role, Quinto received the Theatreworld Outstanding Debut Performance award. He has modeled for magazines including GQ and August.

In 2010, Quinto's company BtD produced Margin Call
Margin Call
Margin Call is a 2011 American independent drama film, written and directed by J.C. Chandor. The film has an ensemble cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, and Penn Badgley...

, 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 and Demi Moore. Margin Call premiered in January 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival. In October 2011, Quinto began his recurring role on the FX series, American Horror Story
American Horror Story
American Horror Story is a horror-drama television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The series centers on the Harmon family: Ben, Vivien and their daughter Violet, who move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a miscarriage and Ben has an affair...

, as Chad, former owner of the house.

Personal life

Quinto publicly came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

 as gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

 in October 2011. He explained that, after the suicide of gay teenager Jamey Rodemeyer
Jamey Rodemeyer
Jamey Rodemeyer was an openly gay teenager, known for his activism against homophobia and his videos on YouTube to help victims of bullying. He took his own life as a result of the constant bullying he faced. Rodemeyer has since become a symbol of bullied adolescents and teenagers who identify as...

, 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." Prior to his coming out, Quinto had long been an active supporter of gay rights and organizations like the Trevor Project. 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, as well as in the play The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...

. In 2010, Quinto contributed a video to the It Gets Better Project, an Internet-based campaign that aims to prevent suicide among LGBT youth.

Film and television

Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Others
The Others (TV series)
The Others is an American TV series created by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, and produced by Delusional Films, NBC and DreamWorks Television. It ran for 13 40-minute episodes from February 5, 2000 to June 10, 2000, airing on NBC in the US, Five in the UK and Nine in Australia...

Tony episode "Unnamed"
2001 Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...

Mike episode "When Sunny Gets Blue"
2001 An American Town Bennett
2002 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...

Mitchell Sullivan episode "Anatomy of a Lye"
2002 Off Centre
Off Centre
Off Centre is an American sitcom that aired on The WB network from October 14, 2001 to October 31, 2002. Created by Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, and Danny Zuker, the series was heavily promoted as "from the guys who brought you American Pie".-Synopsis:...

Smudge episode "Diddler on the Roof"
2002 Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire is an American teen sitcom which premiered on the Disney Channel on January 12, 2001 and ended February 14, 2004. A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired. Its target demographic was preteens and adolescents...

Director episode "Party Over Here"
2002 Haunted
Haunted (TV series)
Haunted is an American television program first aired in September 2002 on UPN. The program, which was filmed in Vancouver, was canceled in November 2002 due to low ratings. As a result, only seven of the completed episodes were aired. However, all eleven filmed episodes have subsequently been...

Paul Kingsley episode "Grievous Angels"
2002 The Agency Jay Lambert episode "Air Lex"
2003 Six Feet Under Hip Student episode "The Eye Inside"
2003 Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...

Warlock episode "Cat House"
2003 Miracles
Miracles (TV series)
Miracles is an American drama television program starring Skeet Ulrich and Angus Macfadyen. Created by Richard Hatem and Michael Petroni, the series has sometimes been dubbed a "spiritual version of The X-Files" by its creators...

Messenger episode "Battle at Shadow Ridge"
2003–2004 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...

Adam Kaufman 23 episodes
2004 Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...

Howard Simms episode "Frame of Mind"
2004 Hawaii
Hawaii (TV series)
Hawaii is a United States television series produced and distributed by NBC Universal Television for the NBC television network. Originally titled Pearl City, this police drama was produced with the series Hawaii Five-O in mind, and debuted on August 31, 2004...

Loomis episode "No Man Is an Island"
2004 Joan of Arcadia
Joan of Arcadia
Joan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi , who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m...

Pretentious Filmmaker God episode "P.O.V."
2005 Blind Justice Scott Collins episode "In Your Face"
2006 Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...

Leo Fulton, Jr. episode "Code of Ethics"
2006 Twins
Twins (TV series)
Twins is an American situation comedy series that first aired on The WB in the United States and on CTV in Canada in September 2005. The series is produced by KoMut Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television...

Jason episode "When I Move, You Move"
2006 So NoTORIous
So NoTORIous
So NoTORIous is an American sitcom on VH1, loosely based on the life of actress Tori Spelling. The series debuted on April 2, 2006 and despite lasting only ten episodes, received substantial acclaim from critics.-Premise:...

Sasan 10 episodes
2006–2010 Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...

Gabriel Gray/Sylar 60 episodes
2008 Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...

Archimedes Q. Porter / Sylar episode "Bionic Cow" (voice)
2009 Star Trek Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...

2009 Boutonniere Michael Paul David short film
2009 Hostage: A Love Story Gunman short film
2010 Before After short films
2011 Margin Call
Margin Call
Margin Call is a 2011 American independent drama film, written and directed by J.C. Chandor. The film has an ensemble cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, and Penn Badgley...

Peter Sullivan also producer
2011 Girl Walks Into a Bar
Girl Walks into a Bar
Girl Walks Into a Bar is a 2011 multiple story line ensemble comedy film produced exclusively for Internet distribution. It is directed by Sebastián Gutiérrez from his own script, much like the anthology style of Gutiérrez's Women in Trouble, and follows a group of apparent strangers in...

Nick
2011 What's Your Number?
What's Your Number?
What's Your Number? is a 2011 romantic comedy film starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans. It is based on Karyn Bosnak's book 20 Times a Lady. The film was released on , 2011.-Cast:* Anna Faris as Ally Darling* Chris Evans as Colin Shea...

Rick
2011 American Horror Story
American Horror Story
American Horror Story is a horror-drama television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The series centers on the Harmon family: Ben, Vivien and their daughter Violet, who move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a miscarriage and Ben has an affair...

Chad Warwick Recurring
2013 Star Trek 2
Star Trek 2 (2013 film)
Star Trek XII is a planned film sequel to 2009's Star Trek currently untitled and in the pre-production stages. The sci-fi action film is scheduled to enter production in January 2012 and is due to be directed by J.J. Abrams.-Development:...

Spock

External links

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