American actor Zachary Quinto was born on June 2, 1977 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The half-Italian and half-Irish actor became involved in acting at a very young age, first becoming a member of the Civic Light Opera’s Mini-Stars in Pittsburgh as a child. He was a regular of school plays during his high school years. He attended Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, from which he graduated in 1999.
Quinto made his television debut in 2000, when he played a guest role on the short-lived science fiction series The Others. He then took on many more guest roles, appearing in shows such as Touched by an Angel, CSI, Lizzie McGuire, Haunted, The Agency, Six Feet Under and Charmed. He got his first major television role in 2003, when he joined the cast of the third season of 24. He played the role of Andy Kaufman, a computer expert who is brought into the CTU to extract important files and decode where the terrorists have planted a bomb.
His next major television role came in 2006, when he played the character of Sasan, a flamboyantly gay Persian-American best friend of Tori Spelling in her faux-reality series So NoTORIous. The program only had a ten-episode run on VH1, but developed a cult following and was applauded by critics. After further guest roles in shows like Joan of Arcadia, Blind Justice, Crossing Jordan and Hawaii, he took on another high-profile role, this time for the popular NBC series Heroes. He plays one of the main antagonists of the series, Sylar—a serial killer with superpowers, who targets and kills other superhumans in order to get their powers. His alter ego is Gabriel Gray, a talented watch repairman, who always felt that he deserved more in life; this was said to be the motivation for his killings.
Quinto has been recently cast as Spock in the upcoming Star Trek movie, set in the events previous to the original 1970s television series and directed by J.J. Abrams. He had earlier expressed interest in the role, citing his resemblance to the original Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy.
Zachary loves dogs and owns an Irish Setter/Airedale cross called Noah, and a rescued cat named Harold.
1993 Gene Kelly Award - Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
2007 Future Classic Award for Heroes
The Others, 2000
Touched By An Angel, 2001
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 2002
Off Centre, 2002
Lizzie McGuire in episode #209, 'Party Over Here' , 2002
Haunted, 2002
The Agency, 2002
Six Feet Under, 2003
Charmed ("Cat House"), 2003
Miracles, 2003
Dragnet, 2004
24, 2004
Hawaii, 2004
Joan of Arcadia, 2004
Blind Justice, 2005
Crossing Jordan, 2006
Twins, 2006
So NoTORIous, 2006
Heroes, 2006–present
Star Trek XI, 2009
- I don't immerse myself in the Internet chatter because it opens you up to a whole source of danger.
-The interesting thing about my character 'Sylar' is that my strengths as an actor seemed to go completely against the shape of a character in the shadows. I stepped into this character and then realized how much there was to play with.
-When Horn Rimmed Glasses gets me in captivity, he's kind of merciless in trying to get at the root of what I'm doing and why I'm doing what I'm doing. You really see Sylar's anger, the darkness that comes out. I don't like being in captivity, and I don't like being overpowered.
-I prefer having friends over for quiet gatherings more than I ever like to go to clubs, though I do that, too. I actually have a reputation among my (Heroes) castmates for being a partier.