The TV Addict 

In anticipation of tonight’s third season premiere of HEROES [see preview], theTVaddict.com thought we’d spend a few moments shining a spotlight on actor Zachary Quinto, who has risen to fame playing America’s favorite super-villain Sylar.

On the new season: In a far more diplomatic manner than this TV Addict might have put it, Zachary Quinto promises that the new Chapter of HEROES, titled “Villains” will be far more entertaining that last season’s suck fest underwhelming “Generations” installment, “I think that the scripts this season are just, you know, more exciting and more action-packed, and more dynamic than ever. I think it just keeps getting better and more – you know, every time I open a script it’s truly a thrill.”

On what’s in store for Sylar: There’s a lot of unexpected turns this year for my character and every time I open a script there’s just a different kind of challenge. Whether it’s a either physical challenge in terms of a fight sequence or a stunt sequence that we’re doing, or a special effects sequence that we’re doing, or emotional challenge in terms of what Sylar’s coming up against in himself, and what he’s coming up against outside of himself with the people that he’s interacting with. I think the tapestry of that has been incredibly rich this year for my character, in particular. So it’s been really – it’s been a ride for sure.

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One of the more interesting things HEROES star Zachary Quinto revealed to the TV Addict during our recent interview was the fact that you can thank him for the hiring of Kristen Bell. Says Quinto, only half-jokingly, “I take full responsibility for her inclusion in the show.”

“Kristen and I have been friends for years. We actually decided to take the train back from July’s Comic Con. And as we were waiting in line for the train, we ran into HEROES writers Joe Pokaski, Aron Eli Coleite and Michael Green.” Elaborates the watchmaker, “Turns out they were actually writing scenes for the character that would become Kristen’s. So it was really interesting to get a text message from her a week later saying — Hey, some really great news. Call me when you get this, or I can just tell you when I see you on the set of OUR show.”

Continues executive producer Jeph Loeb. “Kristen was one of those happy surprises where we were trying to find someone to play the part who could just walk into the role immediately and get the audience excited.”

Well, Mr. Loeb consider your mission accomplished. This TV Addict could not be more excited for tonight’s fifth chapter of HEROES. Don’t miss the first appearance by Kristen Bell’s mysterious Elle tonight at 9PM on NBC [GLOBAL in Canada]

Back in August, the TV Addict was lucky enough to sit down with a couple of HEROES you may be familiar with. The following is part 2 of my conversation with Zachary Quinto, Noah Gray Cabey and Executive Producer Jeph Loeb

The TV Addict: Sitting across from you [to Zachary Quinto] I can’t help but notice some mannerisms that one might consider Vulcan. The way you’re sitting, your speech patterns. What can you tell fans about playing Spock and about taking over such an iconic character from Leonard Nimoy.

Zachary Quinto: I actually have yet to read the script [Editor's note: This interview took place in August]. I’m actually going to sit with JJ Abrams either Tuesday or Wednesday and read it when I get back. That said, I certainly have a sense of where the story is going. I talked to Bob [Robert Orci] and Alex [Kurtzman] who wrote it, and they told me quite a lot. But their feeling is that they really want to make sure that they could do the work they needed to do without worrying about anybody’s real opinion. Because obviously once they start including all of us actors, there’s going to be a lot of other voices chiming in on it.

Aside from that, I’ve been immersing myself in other kinds of research and other conversations, and certainly reading a great deal about the mythology and the sort of ethical code of the Vulcan, and there’s so much material that’s really sort of an actor’s dream.

Does it ever concern you that you may be typecast in your roles as “Sylar” and “Micah” for the rest of your career?

Zachary Quinto: No, I don’t think like that. If anything, being on HEROES gives me a platform to go in so many different directions with my career. If you asked me when I was starting out, or in college, I never would have guessed that Sci-fi would have been the ticket to the kind of exposure I’ve experienced in the past year. But I’m really glad that it has been, because there’s a lot to learn and I think the underlying themes in science fiction tend to be optimistic and hopeful. I really think that for me this is just the beginning. And I know that’s true for Noah as well.

Noah Gray Cabey: HEROES isn’t just Sci-fi. It’s also a drama. So I feel like this is a huge opportunity as an actor.

Zachary Quinto: And also, the genre’s become so mainstream. It’s not what it was when they were doing the original STAR TREk.

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Imagine for a second you walk into a dark and empty room, only to be confronted by none other than Sylar. Do you run? Hide? Or quickly remember that you’ve actually been invited by Global TV to meet television’s most infamous villain.

Thankfully, rather than run, this TV Addict quickly realized the latter, as he sat down with HEROES stars Zachary Quinto, Noah Gray Cabey and Producer Jeph Loeb when they dropped into Toronto during the recent HEROES WORLD TOUR.

First things first [focusing on Zachary Quinto]. You’re essentially one pretty evil serial killer. Do you find it at all weird that so many fans have fallen in love with your character?
Zachary Quinto: I think it’s interesting actually playing this role. First of all, being on a television  series, your character comes into people’s homes every week. There’s a real familiarity, a canvas for people’s projections, and playing a character that embodies such darkness as this one does, some of the projections that tend to land on me can be on the darker side. We’ve all experienced it with S-Army

The S-Army is exactly was I was getting at.
Zachary Quinto: That kind of stuff, the degree of fanaticism is sometimes overwhelming, but it’s not creepy. My boundaries are clear with it, in terms of how I relate to it in my personal life, and when I’m in situations like we were in in New York at the signing, and like we’ll be in tomorrow at Dundas Square [in Toronto]. It’s a great opportunity to be able to connect with and engage with the people that are responsible for the success of the show, and thereby my success. So it’s anything but creepy actually, I’m really gratified, and sort of humbled by it.

Jeph Loeb: With all of our actors, we’ve been extraordinarily… well either lucky or talented. We tend to think we’re lucky. That the group of actors we’ve been able to bring in, whether it is the way that Noah plays Micah, or whether it is the way Zach plays Sylar, they bring a humanity to whatever it is they’re doing. I talk to a lot of the woman who are obsessed with Syler and with Zach, and they honestly believe that he can be saved.

I sort of compare him to Snape, if you’re familiar with the world of HARRY POTTER.
Jeph Loeb: Yeah, absolutely. And you know, they really want him to turn good and somehow turn back on all of the stuff that happened, but we live in a very complex world. Both good and evil are not black and white, there’s lot of gray and a lot of morality issues that nobody really understands. So by introducing him the way we did, by showing him that he was the watchmaker’s son and his name was Gabriel and it wasn’t that he was the Sylar character, that was something that he took on. People believe that there is redemption for him. And had we gone a different way, had we gone a more traditional way of a big huge hulking guy with razor sharp teeth and was a monster, people would have been more than happy to have him killed and that would be the end of it. And that’s not to say that we aren’t going to go that way in Season two, because having that kind of villain is also a good way to go.

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Having just got off the phone with our favorite Canadian television network GLOBAL TV — have we got some exciting news to share!

Tomorrow, the TV Addict has just been invited to a HEROES press junket where I’ll have the fantastic opportunity to conduct five one-on-one interviews with HEREOS stars Zachary Quinto (Sylar), James Kyson Lee (Ando), Noah Gray-Cabey (Micah), Dania Ramirez (Maya) and executive producer Jeph Loeb.

Needless to say, I’d love to be prepared with some fantastic HEREOS questions. So post away and be sure to include who your question’s for.