Zachary Quinto has played “a lot of dark characters” in his career.
So when he was offered the lead role in “Good Minds,” he accepted because the collection “really comes from a place of light.”
In the NBC medical drama, he plays Dr. Oliver Wolf, an eccentric neurologist who treats patients with unusual mental health conditions at a Bronx hospital. He is inspired by the late Dr. Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and author portrayed by Robin Williams in 1990’s “Awakenings.”
“I believe it’s so vital, now more than ever, for individuals to be willing and leaning into the sun. As a result, I believe we’re really seeing in ways that we haven’t been able to fully comprehend yet that what we’re really in the middle of is this battle between light and dark, expanded consciousness and restricted consciousness, seeing the thinking of evolution and what’s attainable — rather than holding on to outdated constructs, outdated paradigms, and old concepts of how things need to be in the binary way of yes, no, right, wrong, black, white,” Quinto says on this week’s episode of the “Only for Selection” podcast.
“The fact is that as a human race, as a civilization, we no longer have the luxury of being present inside these constructs. Things are moving beneath our feet in ways that we have not yet realized. We see it politically, we see it technologically.”
He could just be playing a health professional on TV, but Quinto sees himself in his TV alter ego. “I think Oliver Wolf is a personality who has done a lot of work on himself, and done a deep dive, and a deep excavation of his personal psyche,” Quinto explains. “I want to assume that’s true for me as an individual. It’s something that really moves me in my life. Medicine, meditation and raising awareness.”
How did the desire within change Quinto?
“My biggest shift has been about letting go,” he says. “My biggest shift has been about being in the moment I’m in, and understanding that that’s exactly where I’m supposed to be right now. And what’s happened before, and what’s going to happen sooner or later is nothing I can control, and it’s nothing I can affect. Being here right now in this second, and carrying everything in my life with as much freedom as possible has been the most important shift I’ve experienced in my life.”
He provides, “It’s the result of a lot of work. I’ve worked on myself a lot. I’ve been in therapy for over 20 years. I have an extremely dedicated meditation practice. I’ve really relied on tools to help me. And it hasn’t been easy. And there were some years in my life where I was like, ‘Why am I doing this? What’s the point?’”
Like Quinto and Sacks, Dr. Wolf is blatantly homosexual.
“The truth that I am an openly gay actor, playing a gay character, the lead, the face of a prime-time community medical drama, in the wake of many unimaginable coming outs that have come before ours, deserves recognition, given how much progress we have made over the years,” Quinto says. “Even as you and I identify in the context of what we do for a living, things have changed, and irrevocably. I believe there is something profoundly healing in acknowledging that. And also, at the same time, acknowledging that we still have so much more progress to make, decide, and fight for. How can we continue to evolve and keep evolution from becoming so entrenched in the battle?”
Speaking of a battle, our discussion finally turns to politics. Quinto plans to travel to his native Pennsylvania to campaign for Kamala Harris with Governor Josh Shapiro. Politics is in his blood. His maternal great-grandfather was a Pittsburgh city councilman and his grandfather was a Democratic U.S. congressman.
“We have to see that the messages that are coming out of this flawed and broken two-party system have to change,” Quinto says. “They have to change. And there are two candidates before us now, one of whom understands this much more than the other. And I’ve really been asking myself, how can I find compassion for the candidate and his supporters who signify a really totally different point of view than I do? How can I find softness and compassion for them? And how can we all see beyond the constraints of this mindset and hopefully move forward into the uncertain future with more connection, more unity, less division, and less hatred on each side?”
He admits that it’s “onerous” to seek out this compassion. “However, I’ve discovered compassion for how painful it must be to be caught in a mindset that makes you feel like you need to dictate how different individuals live their lives,” Quinto says. “That must be a really painful place to be, not really realizing yourself, or loving yourself enough to appreciate that your way of being, and living, and thinking doesn’t necessarily in any way have to affect someone else’s, and that we can actually create a space for everyone to live, and think, and really feel in the best way that they do.”
He says of the vice president: “I think this is an incredible moment. I think she was born to do a job that no one should inherit at this second, but she’s doing it with grace and intelligence, and I’ve been so impressed with how well she’s stepped into this role that she essentially didn’t expect to be in. I have deep admiration and deep respect for the way she’s navigated this path so far… I know that the future I want to see is with her as president of the United States, and I’m going to do everything I can to help make that happen.”
READ: Zachary Quinto Casts Leonard Nimoy’s Widow Susan in Medical Drama ‘Good Minds’ as an 80-Year-Old Nymphomaniac (EXCLUSIVE)
On a lighter note, Quinto, as he always does, expresses hope that he might play Spock again in another “Star Trek” film. “The great thing is that ‘Star Trek’ is an unlimited universe. Look at all the TV shows, look at all the stories, look at all the characters and timelines. Anything is possible,” he says. “That’s the fun of the franchise. That’s why it’s been going on for 55, 60 years. I’m open to it. I would like to. I would absolutely love to.”
It doesn’t matter the place or time.
“There’s no cut,” Quinto says. “The unique cast has been making films for many years, well into their 50s, 60s. The stories might be completely different. We wouldn’t be operating as fast on other planets, but I believe something is possible, and I believe there’s nothing more rewarding as an artist than returning to something after time has passed, and taming a relationship with it from a completely different perspective, and a very new point of view.”
You can listen to the full interview with Quinto on “Only for Selection” wherever you find your favorite podcasts.