Zachary Quinto might not be a familiar name, but his face and voice are unmistakable: calm, brown eyes underneath signature bushy brows and a chiseled mouth complete with dimples. It is a handsome, enigmatic face, but the characters associated with it, along with his alluring voice send shivers down the spine.
On Monday at 7 p.m., U students will have the opportunity to listen to Quinto talk about his career and ask him questions.
Quinto’s first prominent role was in ABC’s popular show “Heroes,” where he played Sylar — the show’s primary antagonist. Gabriel Gray, a timid watchmaker with dreams of becoming something greater, evolves into Sylar — a super-powered serial killer, who literally slices open his victims’ skulls to absorb their powers.
“The sad part is he’s initially well-intentioned,” Quinto said about his character to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2006. “He wants to improve his life. He wants to make a difference. He wants to matter. Through the process of realizing how to do that, he gets blinded and loses himself in the pursuit of it and goes a little crazy — ‘a little’ being an understatement.”
Sylar’s background and actions mingled with Quinto’s cold, piercing glare and chilling, despondent voice bring to life a villain capable of crawling out of television screens and haunting the dreams of viewers everywhere.
In 2009, Quinto portrayed the iconic Spock character in J.J. Abrams’s remake of the cult-favorite “Star Trek.” Quinto brings restrained humor and gravity to Spock, who remains on the same level as Gandalf, Luke Skywalker and Romeo when it comes to classic fictional characters.
“Quinto invests Spock with a new layer of chilly, smoldering sex appeal … [He] does a fantastic job of maintaining Spock’s calm, no-sweat surface, but getting quietly hot and bothered underneath,” said Owen Gleiberman on Entertainment Weekly in 2009.
On the second season of the FX show “American Horror Story,” Quinto takes up another villainous role as psychopathic, killer psychologist Dr. Oliver Thredson. He convincingly portrays fantastically flawed, evil characters with ease, which translates into his ability to build pathos for even the most inhumane characters.
Quinto redefines the term triple-threat. Not only has he conquered film and television, but he also enjoys performing on stage in front of a live audience.
Most recently, Quinto appeared in the American Repertory Theater’s production of the classic Tennessee Williams’s play “The Glass Menagerie.” He breathes fresh air into the emotionally raw role of Tom, the son of an overbearing mother and the brother of a fragile, damaged sister. The production ended March 17, but critics praised the performance so much there were rumors about transferring the show to Broadway.
Quinto also writes and produces. His production company, Before the Door Pictures, has dabbled in projects in film, television, new media and graphic novels. Before the Door’s first feature, “Margin Call,” premiered at Sundance in 2011 to rave reviews, and it was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award.
Quinto brings integrity to each of his roles, and he remains grounded and genuine, despite his many talents and achievements.
“I would love to be a voice in this maelstrom of chaos and obsessive celebrity infatuation that says, ‘Let’s talk about something that matters,’ ” Quinto said in The New York Times in 2010.
U students can go to the Union Services Desk and show their UCard to receive two free tickets to hear Quinto speak. There are also non-student tickets available for purchase.