Zachary Quinto Biography

Zachary John Quinto (born June 2, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. Quinto grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 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 from 2003 to 2004. In 2006, Quinto acted in the sitcom So NoTORIous and portrayed series antagonist Sylar in the science fiction drama Heroes from 2006 to 2010. He played Spock in the 2009 reboot Star Trek, and its 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.

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, John Quinto, who was a barber, died of cancer when Quinto was seven years old. Quinto and his brother, Joe, were subsequently raised by their mother. His father was of Italian descent, while his mother is of Irish ancestry. Quinto graduated from Central Catholic High School 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.

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 at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles playing the challenging role of Clov, he landed a recurring role as computer expert Adam Kaufman on the Fox series 24; 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 on her VH1 series So NoTORIous. Later that year, he joined the cast of Tim Kring's Heroes as Gabriel Gray, better known as the serial killer Sylar. 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. 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," 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." 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.

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. Quinto also starred in the comedy short Hostage: A Love Story, written by the comedy duo HoltandSteele, for Before the Door and FunnyorDie.

Quinto's theatre experience includes roles in a variety of productions, including Much Ado About Nothing at the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival and Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow at the Old Globe Theatre. Baseline Studio Systems announced in January 2010 that Steven Spielberg may direct a biopic about George Gershwin, 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's Angels in America at the Signature Theatre, New York City. 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 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. In October 2011, Quinto began his 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.

In 2013, Quinto played the role of Tom Wingfield in the American Repertory Theatre's production of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. He is set to reprise the role in the Broadway production of the play, in a 17-week run that has previews scheduled to begin on September 5 and opening on September 26.

Personal life

Quinto publicly came out as gay in October 2011. He explained that, after the suicide of bisexual 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." Prior to his coming out, Quinto had long been an active supporter of gay rights and organizations, for instance 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. In 2010, Quinto contributed a video to the It Gets Better Project, an Internet-based campaign that aims to prevent suicide among LGBT youth. In 2012 Quinto campaigned on behalf of Barack Obama, including appearing in the video Obama Pride: LGBT Americans For Obama.

In September 2012, Quinto confirmed that he was in a relationship with actor Jonathan Groff. In July 2013, it was reported the relationship had ended.

Filmography

Film

Roles in film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	'	Bennett
2009	Star Trek	Spock
2011	Margin Call	Peter Sullivan	Producer
2011	Girl Walks Into a Bar	Nicolas "Nick"
2011	What's Your Number?	Rick
2013	Star Trek Into Darkness	Spock

Television

Roles in television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	'	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"
2002	Off Centre	Smudge	Episode: "Diddler on the Roof"
2002	Lizzie McGuire	Director	Episode: "Party Over Here"
2002	Haunted	Paul Kingsley	Episode: "Grievous Angels"
2002	'	Jay Lambert	Episode: "Air Lex"
2003	Six Feet Under	Hip Student	Episode: "The Eye Inside"
2003	Charmed	Warlock	Episode: "Cat House"
2003	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"
2004	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"
2006	Twins	Jason	Episode: "When I Move, You Move"
2006	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	Dr. Oliver Thredson	12 episodes

Video games

Video Games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Code Blue	Monty Rodriguez
2006	'	Adam Kaufman	Voice and likeness
2013	Star Trek	Spock	Voice and likeness

Awards and nominations

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