Zachary Quinto of Brilliant Minds in ‘Star Trek 4’ and Kamala Harris

Zachary Quinto has played “a lot of dark characters” in his career.

So when he was offered the lead role in “Brilliant Minds,” he jumped at it because the series “really comes from a place of light.”

In the NBC medical drama, he plays Dr. Oliver Wolf, an eccentric neurologist who treats patients with rare mental illnesses at a Bronx hospital. It is inspired by the late Dr. Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and writer played by Robin Williams in 1990’s ‘Awakenings’.

“I think now more than ever it’s so important for people to look to the light and lean into it. Because I think we’re really seeing in ways that we haven’t even fully grasped yet, that what we’re really in the middle of is the battle between light and dark, expanded consciousness and limited consciousness, seeing the idea of ​​evolution and what’s possible – as opposed to clinging to old constructs, old paradigms and ideas from the past about how things should be in the binary way of yes, no, right, wrong, black, white,” says Quinto in this week’s episode of the Podcast ‘Just for variety’.

“The reality is that we as a human race, as a civilization, no longer have the luxury of existing within these constructs. Things are changing beneath our feet in ways we don’t yet understand. We see it politically, we see it technologically.”

He may only play a doctor on TV, but Quinto sees himself in his television alter-ego. “I think Oliver Wolf is a character who has done a lot of work on himself, and a lot of delving and digging deep into his own psyche,” Quinto explains. “I like to think that applies to me as a person. It’s something that really drives me in my life. Therapy and meditation, and expansion of consciousness.”

MORE: You can listen to the full interview with Quinto on “Just for Variety” or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

How has looking inward changed Quinto?

“My big change was actually motivated by the concept of non-attachment,” he says. “My big change was really about being in the moment I’m in and understanding that this is exactly where I need to be right now. And what happened in the past and what will happen in the future is nothing I can control, and it’s nothing I can influence. To be here in this moment and hold everything in my life as loosely as possible is the biggest change I have ever experienced in my life.”

He adds: “It is the result of a lot of work. I’ve been working on myself a lot. I have been in therapy for over twenty years. I have a very dedicated meditation practice. I have really used tools that have helped me. And it hasn’t been easy. And there were many years in my life where I asked myself, ‘Why am I doing this? What’s the point? ”

Like Quinto and Sacks, Dr. Wolf is openly homosexual.

“The fact that I am an openly gay actor playing a gay character, the lead, the face of a primetime network medical drama, in the tradition of many incredible shows that have preceded ours, warrants recognition, in terms of how much progress that we have made over the years,” says Quinto. “Even since you and I have known each other in the context of what we do for a living, things have changed, and irrevocably. I think it’s very valuable to recognize that. And at the same time, we must recognize that we still have so much more progress to make, to commit to and to fight for. How can we continue to evolve and prevent evolution from becoming so rooted in conflict?”

When we talk about conflict, our conversation eventually turns to politics. Quinto plans to travel to his native Pennsylvania to campaign for Kamala Harris with Governor Josh Shapiro. Politics is in his blood. His maternal great-grandfather was a Pittsburgh city councilman and his grandfather was a Democratic U.S. congressman.

“We must ensure that the messages coming out of this flawed and broken two-party system must change,” Quinto said. “They have to change. And there are now two candidates before us, one of whom understands this much better than the other. And I’ve really asked myself: How can I find compassion for the candidate and his supporters who represent a very different point of view than I do? How can I find gentleness and compassion for them? And how can we all see beyond the limitations of that way of thinking, and hopefully face the uncertain future with more connection, more solidarity, and less division and less hate on both sides?

He admits that it is “difficult” to find that compassion. “But I’ve found compassion for how painful it must be to be stuck in a way of thinking that makes you feel like you have to dictate how other people live their lives,” Quinto says. “That must be a very painful place to not really understand yourself, or not love yourself enough to realize that your way of being, living and thinking doesn’t necessarily have to influence anyone else’s in any way, and that we can actually create space for everyone to live, think and feel as he or she does.”

He says of the vice president, “I think there is tremendous momentum. I think she was born to do a job that no one should inherit at this point, but she does it with grace and intelligence, and I’m very impressed with the way she’s stepped into this role. I don’t necessarily expect her to be there. I have a deep admiration and respect for the way she has navigated this path thus far… I know that the future I want to see lies with her as President of the United States, and I will do whatever I can to support that.

READ: Zachary Quinto Casts Leonard Nimoy’s Widow Susan in Medical Drama ‘Brilliant Minds’ as an 80-Year-Old Nymphomaniac (EXCLUSIVE)

On a lighter note, Quinto, as he always does, expresses the hope that he will be able to play Spock again in another “Star Trek” film. “The great thing is that ‘Star Trek’ is a limitless universe. Look at all the television shows, look at all the stories, look at all the characters and timelines. Everything is possible,” he says. “That’s the fun of the franchise. That’s why it took 55, 60 years. I’m open to it. I would love it. I would absolutely love it.”

No matter where or when.

“There is no limit,” says Quinto. “The original cast made films for decades, well into their 50s and 60s. The stories can be different. We may not run as fast on the other planets, but I think anything is possible, and I think there’s nothing more satisfying as an artist than coming back to something after time has passed, and cultivating a relationship with it from a completely different perspective. and a completely new point of view.”