Zachary Quinto Reveals Brilliant Minds' Connections to Heroes and Star Trek

It's been 18 years since Zachary Quinto played super-powered serial killer Sylar on the hit sci-fi series Heroes (now streaming on Peacock). So the actor calls his latest role as Dr. Oliver Wolf on the new NBC medical procedure Brilliant Minds, is a "full-circle moment" — as he explained during his September 18 appearance on The Tonight Show.

"It does feel like a homecoming of sorts — in more ways than one, actually," Quinto told Host Jimmy Fallon. "I was thinking the catalyst of the show Heroes, if anybody doesn't know, was that a solar eclipse really awakens people to their own powers. And then the series explores what that means. We started shooting Brilliant Minds on April 8...which was the day of the solar eclipse."

"So this full-circle moment that feels bigger than NBC or bigger than a show is kind of undeniable," he added of the cosmic connection. "I had to acknowledge it. So, it's great to back."

In addition to the link Quinto believes Brilliant Minds has with Heroes, it's also related to another one of Quinto's most iconic roles: Spock from Star Trek. Quinto played the telepathic Vulcan in the reboot trilogy that started with 2009's Star Trek film, and he became good friends with the actor who portrayed Spock in the original Star Trek series and movies, Leonard Nimoy. 

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Leonard Nimoy's wife Susan Bay Nimoy will guest on Brilliant Minds 

Nimoy passed away in 2015, but Quinto stayed close friends with his widow, actress and director Susan Bay Nimoy, whom he thought of for a role he says will be in Episode 8 of Brilliant Minds.

"I read this script and I just thought, she hasn't acted in almost 40 years. She's 81. She's incredible. She's such a powerful influence in my life, and our friendship has really continued," he recalled.

"I thought, 'I know where she is right now in her journey,' and I know that this might be something that should be interested in," Quinto continued.

"So I called her up and said, 'Would you ever think about it?' And I thought she'd say yes, I didn't know how many exclamation points she'd add after the word yes," he said. "She was amazing, and she brought such a spirit of joy that was really, really fun."

RELATED: How Brilliant Minds Is Taking Inspiration from This Is Us and Will & Grace Over ER

Who does Zachary Quinto play on Brilliant Minds?

In the new medical procedure, Brilliant Minds, Zachary Quinto plays Dr. Oliver Wolf, inspired by renowned British neurologist and author Dr. Oliver Sacks. The series was created by television writer and executive producer Michael Grassi (Riverdale), who teased that the drama is closer to This Is Us: Medical than ER.

Brilliant Minds premieres on NBC on September 23, 2024, at 10 p.m. Brilliant Minds will be preceded by the premiere of Season 26 of The Voice with new Coaches Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé at 8 p.m.