Zachary Quinto

Zachary John Quinto (born June 2, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for his roles as Sylar on the science fiction drama series Heroes (2006–2010), and Spock in the reboot Star Trek (2009) and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). He also appeared in smaller roles on television series such as So NoTORIous and 24, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance in American Horror Story: Asylum. 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, Joseph John "Joe" Quinto, a barber, died of cancer when Quinto was seven years old. Quinto and his brother, Joe, were subsequently raised by their mother. He grew up Catholic. His father was of Italian descent, while his mother is of Irish ancestry. Quinto graduated from Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh) 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 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 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. After 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?'" --- In 2015, Quinto will appear opposite James Franco in the drama I Am Michael, a film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Quinto will also portray Glenn Greenwald in the Edward Snowden biopic Snowden, due out in December 2015. Personal life Quinto publicly came out as gay in October 2011. He explained that, after the suicide of gay 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, including 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.[36] In 2012 Quinto campaigned on behalf of Barack Obama, including appearing in the video Obama Pride: LGBT Americans For Obama. Since 2010, Quinto was rumored to be dating actor Jonathan Groff. In September 2012, Quinto confirmed that he and Groff were in a relationship. In July 2013, it was reported that the two had broken up. Since 2013, Quinto has been publicly dating model and artist Miles McMillan. In early 2015, Quinto said that he and his partner were moving into an apartment they purchased together. Quinto also confirmed they had been together just under two years.