Zachary Quinto
Before Star Trek came along, Zachary Quinto was probably best known for his portrayal as the villain Gabriel "Sylar" Gray on NBC's science fiction drama, Heroes. On July 23, 2007 at San Diego's Comic-Con International, it was announced that he would take on the iconic role of the young Spock for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot.
Born June 2, 1977 and raised near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Zachary John Quinto got his start in acting by appearing in productions by Pittsburgh City Light Opera at age 11. While in high school, he recieved the Gene Kelley Awared for his role as the Major General in a production by his high school of Pirates of Penzance. He graduated in 1995 from Central Catholic High School and went on to enter the drama program at Carnegie Mellon University.
After graduating in 1999, he moved west in hopes of making a name for himself in acting. His television debut was a part on a short-lived television show entitled The Others. Soon, he was appearing on other television shows, including Touched by an Angel, CSI, Six Feet Under, Charmed, and Joan of Arcadia. His first recurring role was on Fox's third season of 24, followed by a regular part on VH1's brief So NoTORIous.
It was in 2006 that he joined the cast of Heroes on NBC as the power-hungry serial killer, Sylar. The part was initially played by a stuntman. Zachary made his first appearance as Sylar in the show's ninth episode (not counting the unaired pilot), "Seven Minutes to Midnight". He was officially added to the cast when NBC decided to renew it for a second season and Sylar continues to be a force to be reckoned with in season three.
In December of 2006, Zachary Quinto first publicly expressed interest in the role of Spock in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. He auditioned for the role on April 15, 2007. Just one day prior, Leonard Nimoy presented Heroes with the "Future Classic Award" at the TV Land Awards. At first, J.J. Abrams was not quite convinced that he was right for the role, but after meeting with him in June, he changed his mind and Zachary Quinto was the first actor to be cast in the new Star Trek film.
Spock is Zachary Quinto's first major feature film role and his first credited film work. He has also signed up to play Spock in any sequels; it was recently announced that a sequel is already in preliminary stages of development. According to Zachary Quinto, his Spock is more emotionally charged with his struggle between his Human and Vulcan natures. We look forward to seeing what he does with the character.