Will Zimmerman

Doctor William "Will" Zimmerman is a forensic psychiatrist in Old City recruited by Helen Magnus to work for the Sanctuary Network.
== Biography ==
Will Zimmerman's mother, Mary Anne Zimmerman, was killed by a giant lizard creature in 1985 in front of Will's eyes when he was 8-years-old. Everyone Will talked to thought he was crazy because he told people a monster killed his mother. Eventually, Will convinced himself that the monster he saw wasn't real and became obsessed with perception, he even published several papers on how easily the human mind can perceive an illusion as reality.
Will Zimmerman was acknowledged as a good man with an excellent talent for psychiatry and analysis. But, his inability to adjust to the status quo of investigating crimes has resulted in him losing his FBI job, and he then began working as a consultant for the homicide department of the Old City Police Department. While working for the department, Will's co-workers mocked Will by calling him "Sherlock Holmes" as he had the habit of thinking too far outside the box and over analyzing things, refusing to accept the simplicity of some cases.
After being recruited by Helen Magnus in her work at the Old City Sanctuary, Will Zimmerman discovers a new and strange world that is both unbelievable yet completely plausible to him. While his ideas have put him ahead of his time, he finds the world of "abnormals" to be fantastical in a way he can ultimately understand.
Although Will Zimmerman was less than comfortable at first, he has proven himself invaluable in gaining the confidence of his first patient, an abnormal child named Alexei. This only serves to prove that Helen Magnus was right about his instinct and genuine thirst to know the truth. And she knows that he will prove invaluable to the Sanctuary. He has also totally proven himself to Ashley Magnus after helping to rescue her from what could have been her death.
Will Zimmerman's choice to stay at the Old City Sanctuary is made after a conversation with Helen Magnus when she reveals her deepest secrets to him. He asks this of Magnus because of the fact that he has been thrust into a world that he repressed as a child and explains to him how she was there the day an abnormal killed his mother. Even after learning this fact, Will still decides to work for Magnus as Will can see past the monstrous appearances of some abnormals in order to see how desperately some abnormals need their help. 
Despite being involved in the Sanctuary Network for a relatively short time, Will Zimmerman's status as Helen Magnus's protégé seems to give him additional prestige within the Network, with some people suggesting that Magnus is grooming him to take charge of the Sanctuary Network. This is confirmed later by Magnus when she admits that one day Will may have to lead the Sanctuary without her, suggesting that in her absence, Will is the next-in-line to take over her position. This is further confirmed later when the heads of house for all the Sanctuary facilities worldwide unanimously decide to appoint Will as the acting head of the global Sanctuary Network in the face of Magnus' disappearance. Upon Magnus' return Will gladly transfers control of the global Network back to her.
As Helen Magnus's second-in-command, Will Zimmerman has knowledge of all aspects of the Sanctuary Network as well as access to all of Magnus' contacts and resources. Nikola Tesla exploits this aspect when he uses a clause in the Sanctuary charter to temporarily depose Magnus as the head of the Old City Sanctuary on the grounds of (Magnus's) ill health when Magnus refuses to cooperate with Adam Worth to locate Praxis, even in the face of her rapidly deteriorating health due to radiation poisoning, the cure for which could only be found inside Praxis. With Magnus technically being unfit to take command due to the radiation poisoning that is slowly killing her, the role passes to Will by default, who then decides to take the risk of working with Worth to save Magnus. Magnus lodges her protests at his decision but does not challenge his authority, accepting that according to the protocols she herself had drafted, Will was in charge until she made a full recovery. Will and his team succeed in finding a cure for Magnus, but his decision to allow Worth a way back to Praxis has unintended and far reaching consequences, indirectly leading to the destruction of the city at Worth's hands.
=== Web Series ===
==== Part One ====
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==== Part Two ====
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=== Season 1 ===
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=== Season 2 ===
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In the year 2019 of the alternate timeline created by the Guardian, Will Zimmerman and Kate Freelander have a 2-year-old son named Magnus Zimmerman, who is currently living in an arctic colony. Right before Will is killed in a battle against the infected at the Old City Sanctuary, he asks Helen Magnus (if she makes it out alive) to find his son.
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=== Season 3 ===
==== First half ====
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==== Second half ====
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Will Zimmerman's paternal relative Jack Zimmerman is featured.
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In the dream world created by exposure to a psych worm's venom, Will Zimmerman is a cardiac surgeon who presumably works at the hospital, living in a house that is assumed to reside in a neighboring suburb located on the coastline just outside of Old City. Will's mother Mary Anne Zimmerman is still alive and he is married to Abby Corrigan who is currently pregnant with their supposed son, Roy Zimmerman. Will lives across the street from Helen Druitt, and has a recurring issue with her cat named Henry who likes to climb on top of his BMW.
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=== Season 4 ===
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== Relationships ==
Helen Magnus
Helen Magnus saved Will Zimmerman's life when he was attacked by a giant lizard creature as an 8-year-old boy. Unable to save his mother Mary Anne Zimmerman, she secretly watched over him well into his adulthood, and eventually recruited him as her protégé and could-be replacement should anything happen to her. They greatly respect each other, and Will relies on her as a mentor as much as she relies on him as her second-in-command.
=== Romances ===
Meg
Will Zimmerman was in a relationship with Meg for at least two years (both of them living together at his apartment), but they broke up just prior to his introduction to Helen Magnus and the Sanctuary Network. Meg seemed to still have feelings for him, but found it impossible to live with him any longer. When she called to check-up on him to see how he's been (as he seeming completely vanished from regular life and communication with people), she misunderstood his demanding secretive involvement with the Old City Sanctuary to believe Will had instead already started a new romantic relationship with another woman, to which she felt hurt and wished him all the best before hanging up on him.
Clara Griffin
Will Zimmerman and Clara Griffin share a kiss not long after meeting during the crisis surrounding the Cabal's Lazarus virus. They have a long-distance relationship for some time, with him staying in Old City and her living in the London Sanctuary. When the facility comes under attack by the Cabal's super abnormals, Will asks Clara to evacuate with the other residents, but she refuses to go, and is killed in the fighting.
Abby Corrigan
Will Zimmerman and Abby Corrigan first met during a course at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia but she did not leave much of an impression, as he could not remember her when she came to see him at the Old City Sanctuary in early-2010. However, at that point, they were immediately attracted to each other, and ended up going on a date shortly after solving the case Abby came to discuss. This proved difficult, as they got into trouble with abnormals on both of their first dates. As of now, the two are in a happy relationship.
=== Friends ===
* Danny Bradley
* Kayla Bradley
== Age ==
 Age chart
Date 	Details	Details
Early-mid 1985 Mary Anne Zimmerman's death year on her headstone is 1985 as seen in .	 	Will Zimmerman is 8-years-old.
* flashback: An 8-years-old Young Will is seen.
* flashback: An 8-years-old Young Will is seen.
* : Dialogue spoken by Will Zimmerman - He states that Mary Anne Zimmerman died when he was eight-years-old.
Late 1985 - late 1986 	 	Will Zimmerman is 9-years-old.
* flashback: A 9-year-old Will Zimmerman along with his father Jacob Zimmerman visit Mary Anne Zimmerman's gravesite one year after her death.
Late 1986 - late 1987 	 	Will Zimmerman is 10-years-old.
* flashback: Due to his father Jacob Zimmerman not being able to afford sports tickets, Will Zimmerman isn't able to celebrate his 10th birthday in late 1986 the way he would like to.
Late 1997 - late 1998 	 	Will Zimmerman is 21-years-old.
* flashback: A 21-year-old Will Zimmerman returns from Harvard University to clean out his childhood bedroom.
2005 	 	Will Zimmerman is 28/29-years-old.
* : In 2005, a 28/29-years-old Will Zimmerman and his FBI partner Jake Polanski are assigned to the Austin Federal robbery case.
Early 2008 to late 2008 in season 1 	 	Will Zimmerman is 31-years-old.
Late 2008 in season 1 to late-2009 in season 2 	 	Will Zimmerman is 32-years-old.
Late 2009 in season 2 to late-2010 in season 3 	 	Will Zimmerman is 33-years-old.
Late 2010 in season 3 to late 2011 in season 4 	 	Will Zimmerman is 34-years-old.
Late 2011 to early 2012 in season 4 	 	Will Zimmerman is 35-years-old.
* : Will Zimmerman's 35th birthday in the year 2011 is celebrated.
Early-mid 2019 in the Guardian's timeline 	 	Will Zimmerman is 42-years-old.
* : A 42-years-old half-blind version of Will Zimmerman is seen fighting pale-faces.
== Notes ==
* Trivia: Will Zimmerman serves as one of the main protagonists of the series, initially being as unfamiliar with the world of Sanctuary as the viewer.
* Name: Although he is commonly called "Will", his full first name is shown to be "William" on his personnel file in the opening title sequence. Several characters, like James Watson and Kate Freelander, also call him "William" on occasion.
* Will vision: First seen in the webisodes and carried over into the TV series, starting at the beginning of the first season, Will Zimmerman is shown to have an enhanced cognitive eyesight ability (shown to the viewers by a special effect dubbed "Will vision") that enables him to visually detect clues at crime scenes, etc. seemingly effortlessly. This ability directly aids him in being a good forensic profiler.
** His ability to 'see things others can't (or won't)' is one of the primary reasons for why Helen Magnus hired him. Although, she may not see this as being an actual abnormal ability, and instead attributes it more so to stemming from him as a child witnessing of his mother's death (seeing her being mauled by a giant lizard creature); an event which 'opened his eyes' (his mind) to being aware of the hidden world of abnormals in everyday life. This is stated in , where the traumatic experience coupled by public ridicule and dismissal drove him into studying the field of psychology to try to understand the human mind and 'monsters'.
** Several times throughout the series, characters make infrequent mentions to this eyesight ability, however it is never officially claimed by the show to be an actual abnormal power, and thus does not make Will Zimmerman an official abnormal. 
*** Will Zimmerman may be unaware that this discrete minor perception ability of his isn't normal, and thus is a potential clinically undiagnosed abnormality. He is however aware that his professional reputation in normal law enforcement isn't very good as a result of him pointing out connections other people fail to notice or don't believe can be possible. Those without this ability mock him for 'trying to be like Sherlock Holmes' and reject his insights to something they are currently ignorant of: such as in the case of Will quickly realizing that a child also lived in Apartment 23 (bumping the number of occupants to total five people) and that forensic evidence didn't match the lie that Jagna Lutrova told Old City Police Department: that only four adults lived in the apartment and that an intruder shot and killed her father. 
** As the show progresses, the "Will vision" highlight effect is used less and less and is visually reduced in the magnitude of its brightness, making it more subtle and relying on an audio cue to inform the audience, such as seen in when Will Zimmerman and Kate Freelander are investigating the alley where Magnus shot Bigfoot and he notices the missing city surveillance camera.
** This ability is greatly enhanced during to a euphoric level when Will Zimmerman intentionally ingests a massive overdose of special mineral water while stuck in the caves of the Bolivian Andes.
** Will vision is the title of a behind-the-scenes segment located on the complete DVD and Blu-ray boxset(s) for Season 2.
* Trivia: Throughout the series, Will Zimmerman (who is left-handed) is repeatedly shown to exclusively use his right hand when using firearms / pistols. He sometimes uses his left hand/arm to support/brace his right hand/arm.
* Trivia: In , Will Zimmerman displays somewhat severe claustrophobia.
* Trivia: Also in , Will Zimmerman comes to the realization that it was Helen Magnus who funded his scholarship to Harvard University. He then accuses her of directing his life to always work for her at the Sanctuary, to which she rebuffs him, stating that on her first walk through life that she had no idea if bringing him on board the Sanctuary team would have been a brilliant move or complete disaster. That for as much as Will thinks she has power over events and peoples lives like strategically controlling pieces on a chess board, that she actually doesn't, having had been forced to let terrible things and historical events play out exactly as they had happened for the past 113 years of her trip back through time.
=== Character changes ===
There are some small character differences between Will Zimmerman's portrayal in the web series and that in the TV series; being changed from one that was seen as being of a pure medical background to one that was more aligned with law enforcement.
* Casting / Trivia: Damian Kindler noted that Robin Dunne's portrayal as Will Zimmerman differed vastly between the webisodes and the first season, often joking that Zimmerman was played by two different Dunnes.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_season_1#Regular_cast
Web series
Will Zimmerman's first known exposure to abnormals occurred while as a child through being life-long traumatized by Bigfoot trespassing into his house at 1123 Seneca Boulevard, East Hills, Barron County after Will had just previously spent the night watching a 'Monster' program on TV while his parents were out and he was being watched by a babysitter. This led Will Zimmerman as an adult to go through medical school and become a psychiatrist; currently working at the hospital in Old City. Will's former patient Larry Tolson was wrongly believed by the Old City Police Department to be the perpetrator of the multiple homicides committed by Alexei's appendage.
TV series
Will Zimmerman's first known exposure to abnormals occurred while as an eight-year-old child when his mother Mary Anne Zimmerman was killed by a giant lizard creature during a night they spent at an unnamed campground. This moment created a lifelong trauma over his mother's death. Due to public ridicule about his personal recount of a monster killing his mother and his own self doubt causing him to recant his story, it created a fascination about how the human mind works. After his mother died, Will's father Jacob Zimmerman got into gambling and eventually a fraudulent business practice. Both his mother's death and his father's issues influenced Will Zimmerman as an adult to go to medical school for psychiatry and then join the FBI as a behavioral psychologist. After a few years, Will was eventually kicked out of the Bureau due to his considered strange approach to cases (his theories were 'too far' out-of-the-box for most people to accept as being true). Will then went to work for the Old City Police Department as a forensic shrink (with very loose ties to the hospital) for six months prior to Helen Magnus recruiting him.
== Gallery ==
File:Sanctuary_IMDb_Production_Art_1.jpg|Will Zimmerman(Web series)
File:Sanctuary_IMDb_Poster_Dr._Will_Zimmerman.jpg|Will Zimmerman(Season 1)
File:photo_season_01_16_129054168692__Robin_Dunne_as_forensic_psychiatrist_Will_Zimmerman..jpg|Will Zimmerman
File:photo_will_01_129054185016__Robin_Dunne_as_forensic_psychiatrist_Will_Zimmerman..jpg|Will Zimmerman(Season 2)
File:photo_will_02_129054184758__Forensic_psychiatrist_Will_Zimmerman,_portrayed_by_Robin_Dunne,_joins_the_Sanctuary_team_in_season_1..jpg|Will Zimmerman(Season 2)
File:Syfy_wallpaper_Will_Zimmerman_1920x1200.jpg|Will Zimmerman(Season 2)Wallpaper: 1920x1200
File:Syfy_field_guide_will_zimmerman.jpg|Will Zimmerman(Season 2)
File:NUP_145662_0297_595.jpg|Will Zimmerman(Season 4)
== References ==
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_of_Sanctuary#Will_Zimmerman
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