Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto is the actor who portrayed , the role originated by Leonard Nimoy , in J . J . Abrams ' , and , directed by Justin Lin . First acquiring recognition as Counter Terrorist Unit analyst Adam Kaufman during the third season of the FOX series " 24 " , he is also known for his role as the superpowered serial killer Gabriel " Sylar " Gray on the NBC series " Heroes " . Quinto also voiced the Emergency Medical Hologram Mark VI for the computer game " Star Trek Online " in and reprised his role of Spock when he lent his voice to the " Star Trek " video game , as well as commercials for the games console and the TV . Quinto also narrated the " " audio book . Early and personal life . Born in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , USA , the half - Italian , half - Irish Quinto began acting as a member of the Pittsburgh CLO - Mini Stars at the age of eleven . While attending Central Catholic High School , Quinto was honored with Pittsburgh CLO ' s Gene Kelly Award for his performance as Major - General in a production of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera " The Pirates of Penzance " . After graduating from Central Catholic in 1995 , he attended Carnegie Mellon University ' s Carnegie Mellon School of Drama , from which he graduated in 1999 . In October 2011 , Quinto came out publicly as gay , stating that following the suicide of gay teenager Jamey Rodemeyer , he realized " 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 . " He continued " I believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society – and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action . " . Before coming out , Quinto had long been an advocate for gay rights and of organizations advocating gay rights . Quinto now stands side by side with TOS star George Takei who himself has long been a self - outed gay man . Early career . Quinto moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Carnegie Mellon in 1999 ; the following year , he made his television debut on the short - lived NBC series " The Others " , which starred performers John Billingsley and Bill Cobbs . This was followed by guest appearances on such shows as " Touched by an Angel " ( 2001 , in an episode with John Savage ) , " CSI : Crime Scene Investigation " ( 2002 ) , " The Agency " ( 2002 , with Daniel Benzali , David Clennon , and John Rubinstein ) , " Charmed " ( 2003 , also with John Rubinstein ) , and " Crossing Jordan " ( 2006 , directed by and co - starring Miguel Ferrer ) . He also starred in an unsold television pilot for FOX Television called " An American Town " ( 2001 ) , working with Jennifer Hetrick . Quinto made his film debut with a small , uncredited role in the direct - to - video independent thriller " Psychic Murders " , starring Terry Farrell . He then appeared as an angry beatnik in the 2003 romantic comedy " Down with Love " , which also featured actress Jeri Ryan . On " 24 " , Quinto appeared in all but one episode of the show ' s third season . During his time on this series , he worked with fellow " Star Trek " alumni Michael Cavanaugh , J . D . Cullum , Alan Dale , Colby French , Jenette Goldstein , Albert Hall , Penny Johnson , Jack Kehler , John Meier , Henry Kingi , Sr . , Ben Bray , Daniel Dae Kim , Henry Kingi , Jr . , Alexandra Lydon , Glenn Morshower , Mark Rolston , and Tony Todd . Following the third season , however , his character was written out of the series without explanation , though he did return to provide the voice of Adam in the " 24 " video game , which was set between the show ' s second and third seasons . In 2006 , he starred as ' s Persian - American best friend , Sasan , on the comic VH1 series , " So NoTORIous " . Guest performers on this series included Jeanetta Arnette , Whoopi Goldberg , and Natalia Nogulich . The series ended after ten episodes . Quinto joined the cast of " Heroes " in 2006 , making his debut as Sylar in the eighth episode , " Seven Minutes to Midnight " . Including this episode , Quinto appeared in sixty one episodes of " Heroes " through February 2010 , when the series ended , due to the cancellation . " Star Trek " alumni he has worked with on this series are Erick Avari , K Callan , Joanna Cassidy , Josh Clark , Thomas Dekker , Louise Fletcher , Colby French , Brad Greenquist , Greg Grunberg , Cary - Hiroyuki Tagawa , Robert Knepper , Bart McCarthy , Malcolm McDowell , Brian Morri , Christine Rose , Raphael Sbarge , Todd Stashwick , Kate Vernon , Dan Warner , Clay Wilcox , D . Elliot Woods , Rick Worthy , Michael Dorn , Dominic Keating , George Takei and Nichelle Nichols . Two of Quinto ' s episodes were directed by actress Roxann Dawson . " Star Trek " . Quinto admitted that he had only seen " a smattering " of " Star Trek " episodes and only some of the films , since he was not as interested in science fiction when growing up as he is now . He describes himself as a " fan " of " Star Trek " , though not " fanatical . " Quinto first expressed public interest in portraying Spock in December 2006 . Describing this interest , Quinto explained : He first auditioned for the role on the morning of – less than a day after the original Spock actor , Leonard Nimoy , presented Quinto and his " Heroes " castmates with the Future Classic Award at the TV Land Awards . Incidentally , Abrams was not initially convinced that Quinto was right for the role of Spock after seeing the tape of Quinto ' s work session with the film ' s casting directors , April Webster and Alyssa Weisberg . After meeting with Quinto on 5 June , however , Abrams was convinced otherwise and the actor was offered the role two days later . Quinto was the first actor cast in the new film . Rumors that he was in talks for the role persisted throughout July 2007 , and on 23 July , E ! Online reported that he was indeed cast in the role , pending finalization of a deal with Paramount Pictures . An official announcement was made at the Comic - Con International in San Diego , California , on 26 July . Regarding his approach to playing Spock , Quinto has stated he may not spend much time analyzing episodes of the series or the movies for perspective on the character . Instead , he believes " the key to the success of this character is probably going to be reestablishing a perspective on this character with gratitude and respect for what ' s come before . " He has , however , been spending time with original Spock performer Leonard Nimoy in preparation for the role , although Quinto is most interested in getting to know Nimoy " as a man " and " as an artist " and not just to acquire perspective on playing Spock . According to Quinto , his Spock will be more emotional as the character is " more charged " with his struggle between his Human and Vulcan natures . Spock is Quinto ' s first major feature film role and his first credited film work . He also signed up to play Spock in at least two sequels to that film . The first of those sequels , " Star Trek Into Darkness " , was released in May of 2013 . On 26 June 2015 , it was reported that Quinto , as well as Chris Pine signed on for a potential fourth film in the alternate reality series of films . Quinto and Nimoy parodied their involvement in " Star Trek " in a 2013 commercial for the titled " The Challenge . " In the advertisement , Quinto and Nimoy play a game of three - dimensional chess over a computer tablet . After Quinto loses the game , he suggests a new challenge to Nimoy : a round of golf at the club , but the last to arrive at the club has to buy lunch . Quinto drives an Audi 57 to the club , while Nimoy takes his sedan . Quinto arrives at the club first and is waiting outside when Nimoy arrives . Quinto tells Nimoy he will be buying lunch , only to have Nimoy nerve pinch him before entering the club . Pictures of Quinto were used for the virtual collectible card battle game " " on card # 57 " Recruit Spock " , card # 87 " Exo Suit Spock " , and card # 100 " First Officer Spock " . Beyond " Star Trek " . In addition to acting , Quinto has been delving into the production side of film making . In 2008 , he and his longtime friends and collaborators , Corey Moosa and Neal Dodson , started their own media production company , Before The Door Pictures . Quinto has starred in several short films produced by his company , including " Hostage : A Love Story " ( 2009 ) and " Dog Eat Dog " ( 2013 ) . One of their earliest shorts , 2008 ' s " Bordeaux " , starred Quinto and several of his " Heroes " castmates , including the aforementioned Greg Grunberg . Quinto later co - starred with Willie Garson in the comedy short " Periods . " , which played at the in 2012 . Garson also starred in the short " Fops " , which , like " Periods . " , was executive - produced by Quinto . The most high - profile projects to come from Before The Door are two acclaimed feature films from writer - director : the 2011 financial drama " Margin Call " , in which Quinto himself co - starred , and the 2013 survival drama " All Is Lost " , which features only one cast member , Academy Award winner . Quinto is credited as a producer on the former film and an executive producer on the latter . Other features which Quinto is producing include the horror film " The Banshee Chapter " ( 2013 ) and the comedy " Breakup at a Wedding " ( 2013 ) . Outside of projects for Behind The Door , Quinto was seen in the 2011 comedy films " Girl Walks Into a Bar " and " What ' s Your Number ? " , the latter of which co - starred Ed Begley , Jr . Also in 2011 , Quinto portrayed the role of Chad Warwick in four episodes of the first season FX series . He returned to the series as a regular the following year , this time in the role of Dr . Oliver Thredson for the show ' s second season , titled " American Horror Story : Asylum " . Fellow " Star Trek " alum James Cromwell also starred in " Asylum " , portraying Quinto ' s character ' s colleague , the sadistic Dr . Arthur Arden . Others who made appearances in " Asylum " include Barbara Tarbuck and Gwynyth Walsh . Quinto recently shot an independent ensemble comedy titled " Growing Up ( and Other Lies ) " . He is currently slated to co - star in a thriller film titled " The Invitation " alongside , , and " The Big Bang Theory " star . In addition , Quinto starred in The American Repertory Theater ' s recent stage production of Tennessee Williams ' " The Glass Menagerie " . He made his Broadway debut with this production when it transferred to New York ' s Booth Theatre in September 2013 . Quinto finished filming on the comedy " We ' ll Never Have Paris " , set for a 2014 release . Fritz Weaver also appeared in this film . Currently in pre - production is the drama " The Girl Who Invented Kissing " , also up for 2014 . A rumor so far is Quinto ' s participation in the 2015 thriller " You Were Never Here " on which he ' ll also work as executive producer . Awards . For his role as Sylar in " Heroes " , Quinto received three Teen Choice Award nominations in the category Choice TV : Villain between 2007 and 2009 . He also won a Future Classic Award at the TV Land Awards in 2007 , shared with his fellow " Heroes " castmates and producers . For his role as Spock , Quinto earned a Teen Choice Award nomination in the category Choice Movie Rumble in 2009 , shared with Chris Pine . As part of the " Star Trek " cast , he received a Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award nomination for Best Ensemble in 2009 , a Critics Choice Award nomination in the category Best Ensemble Cast at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award s in 2010 , and won a Boston Society of Film Critics Award in the category Best Ensemble Cast in 2009 . He also received an SFX Award nomination in 2010 in the category Best Actor for his work on " Heroes " and " Star Trek " . In 2010 , he was among the nominees in the category Favorite Breakout Movie Actor at the People ' s Choice Awards . As castmember of the film " Margin Call " , Quinto earned a Phoenix Film Critics Society Award nomination in the category Best Ensemble Acting in 2011 , a Gotham Award nomination for Best Ensemble Cast in 2011 , a Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award nomination for Best Ensemble in 2012 , and an AACTA International Award nomination for Best Film in 2012 . The cast including Quinto won an Independent Spirit Award and a Robert Altman Award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards . More recently , he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Guest Starring Role on Television in " American Horror Story " in 2012 and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the category Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his role in the second season of " American Horror Story " in 2013 .