“We’re Doing Medical Cases, But It’s Always About the Person”: ‘THR Presents’ Q&A With the Cast and Showrunner of ‘Brilliant Minds’
In this edition of THR Presents Live, the cast and showrunner of Brilliant Minds opened up about NBC’s upcoming medical drama series at a live event hosted by the San Vicente Bungalows in Los Angeles.
The series stars Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf, a revolutionary neurologist who advocates for his patients at Bronx General Hospital, where his unconventional methods often astound — and at times perplex — his colleagues. Showrunner and executive producer Michael Grassi spoke of the inspiration of Brilliant Minds’ main character: the renowned physician, neurologist and writer Dr. Oliver Sacks. “Oliver Sacks had this incredible ability to bring patients out of themselves, while at the same time, sort of drawing the world in with his writing,” said Grassi. “When he wrote about his patients, it was never about the disease, it was about the person. And in a strange way, we’re also doing that on our show. We’re doing medical cases, but it’s always about the person. … It’s always about getting to know them.”
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For Quinto, Sacks loomed large over his fictionalized version of the celebrated doctor — and the actor says playing Dr. Wolf is a unique experience for him. “I get all of the benefits of the source material and the writing that Oliver Sacks did and the interviews that he gave and the lectures and the TED Talks, and yet I get to … take all of that stuff into a world that I get to create for myself and with everybody else here,” said Quinto.
The actor also notes that the real-life Sacks, like his Brilliant Minds counterpart, was openly gay. “It was a gift to be playing an openly gay character on a primetime network television series,” added Quinto. “It’s an important opportunity for me, personally, in my own journey. I hope that it resonates for people.”
Co-star Tamberla Perry’s character, Dr. Carol Pierce, the head of psychology at Bronx General and a longtime friend to Dr. Wolf, was also inspired by a real figure from medical history: Dr. Carol E. Burnett, who was the first Black graduate from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1960 and a colleague and loyal friend to Sacks. “She was an activist, and she made it her mission in life to really be a trailblazer for diversity in medical education,” explained Perry. “She became the first Black assistant dean at Mount Sinai School of Medicine to encourage diversity there and really teach the art of understanding health disparities. And that was in the 1970s — 50 years later, we are still talking about disparities in the healthcare system. It’s truly an honor to play someone and continue with this legacy. I hope I’m doing it justice by playing this role.”
Added Quinto: “Both of these people were on the margins of the experience at the time when they were called to their vocations. They had to fight against things that most people in their field didn’t have to fight against. That bond that they shared and that identity that they carved out for themselves as real life people is a huge part of who they are. For Tamberla and myself to be living in a time when we get to represent who we are as people openly, and be represented and seen, I think there’s a continuum there that feels really unique and special, and I think important in this time in particular.”
Rounding out the cast on the panel was Teddy Sears, who previously appeared alongside Quinto in the first season of American Horror Story. While they played a married couple on the horror anthology, Brilliant Minds sees them playing rivals, with Sears portraying neurosurgeon Dr. Josh Nichols, a by-the-books doctor whose exacting and clinical persona is often at odds with Dr. Wolf’s more nuanced and humanistic approach. “I’m thrilled to have this assigned to me,” said Sears. “I get a chance to go toe-to-toe with an actor of great esteem, who I consider a friend. And when the writing’s this good, you’re really on rails. I think as an actor, you just get to kind of plug it in and go — and with an actor like Zach, I just have to be open and available and pay full attention to whatever he’s giving me, which is always going to be a little bit different every time, take to take, scene to scene, and that keeps me on my toes.”
This edition of THR Presents Live is sponsored by NBC.
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