HEROES MAGAZINE
Issue 2
DARK STAR
With his insatiable appetite for power and his terrifying penchant for murder, Heroes' Sylar is one villain you definitely would not want to meet down a dark alley. Or by the High School lockers. Or in a café's kitchen. Or anywhere else, for that matter. Actor Zachary Quinto talks about being bad...
In a world where cheerleaders can heal themselves, male nurses can mimic other people's abilities, and Japanese office workers can manipulate the space/time continuum, there isn't much that can harm or even threaten them. Nonetheless, over the course of a season, one word, one man, sent plenty of these characters cowering in terror and running scared. Sylar.
A normal but meek second generation watchmaker from Queens, New York, Gabriel Gray once dreamed of being a bright light in the sky until emerging as Heroes' resident boogeyman. Yet despite targeting evolved humans and removing their brains to absorb their powers, this "Patient Zero" proved to be more than just some maniacal serial killer with an unquenchable hunger. Complex, and with his own personal scars, Sylar is the villain viewers can almost sympathize with. Almost. Now the actor behind the menacing stare, Zachary Quinto, sits down with the official Heroes Magazine to discuss Sylar's cruel intentions, killing off his fellow cast-mates, and lots more...
HEROES MAGAZINE: How did you come on board Heroes? Was it a difficult audition?
ZACHARY QUINTO: It was a pretty traditional audition process in terms of the experiences I've previously had. It was for an audition I had got from my agents one day. I had been aware of the show because I had read the Pilot and heard it had gotten picked up. At the time, I wasn't available because I was working on another series, but I was really drawn to Heroes.
Do you have to psych yourself up to reach Hiro's level of energy?
I tend to be very passionate and energetic as well. Luckily, being on set and working with such an amazing crew and cast is always exciting, so it definitely carries me through. A lot of it is definitely self-generating enthusiasm, so, as I said, I do carry a piece of Hiro with me and I feel like I don't have to try that hard to be as enthusiastic as Hiro - it's definitely an exaggerated version of me.
With his insatiable appetite for power and his terrifying penchant for murder, Heroes' Sylar is one villain you definitely would not want to meet down a dark alley. Or by the High School lockers. Or in a café's kitchen. Or anywhere else, for that matter. Actor Zachary Quinto talks about being bad...
In a world where cheerleaders can heal themselves, male nurses can mimic other people's abilities, and Japanese office workers can manipulate the space/time continuum, there isn't much that can harm or even threaten them. Nonetheless, over the course of a season, one word, one man, sent plenty of these characters cowering in terror and running scared. Sylar.
A normal but meek second generation watchmaker from Queens, New York, Gabriel Gray once dreamed of being a bright light in the sky until emerging as Heroes' resident boogeyman. Yet despite targeting evolved humans and removing their brains to absorb their powers, this "Patient Zero" proved to be more than just some maniacal serial killer with an unquenchable hunger. Complex, and with his own personal scars, Sylar is the villain viewers can almost sympathize with. Almost. Now the actor behind the menacing stare, Zachary Quinto, sits down with the official Heroes Magazine to discuss Sylar's cruel intentions, killing off his fellow cast-mates, and lots more...
HEROES MAGAZINE: How did you come on board Heroes? Was it a difficult audition?
ZACHARY QUINTO: It was a pretty traditional audition process in terms of the experiences I've previously had. It was for an audition I had got from my agents one day. I had been aware of the show because I had read the Pilot and heard it had gotten picked up. At the time, I wasn't available because I was working on another series, but I was really drawn to Heroes.
Do you have to psych yourself up to reach Hiro's level of energy?
I tend to be very passionate and energetic as well. Luckily, being on set and working with such an amazing crew and cast is always exciting, so it definitely carries me through. A lot of it is definitely self-generating enthusiasm, so, as I said, I do carry a piece of Hiro with me and I feel like I don't have to try that hard to be as enthusiastic as Hiro - it's definitely an exaggerated version of me.
Initially, what kind of discussions did you have with the producers regarding Sylar?
It was, "Where is this guy coming from? How is he going to fit into the world? What are the things that are important for me to keep in mind?" I didn't really need to have too many conversations, because there was so much that was offered to me in terms of the text and what I was given to play with at the very beginning. It was so rich, so I filled in the blanks with the producers - but there weren't that many blanks. The writers have done an amazing job of creating this character and creating him in a way that he had so much history built in the first time that you met him. That helped me out.
Technically, your grand debut is in the eighth episode, Seven Minutes to Midnight. What do you recall about your first day shooting, and how welcoming was the cast?
I remember the first conversation I had was with Jack Coleman [who plays Mr. Bennet], and the cast was incredibly welcoming. On my first day, I worked with Jack, Milo [Ventimiglia who plays Peter Petrelli], and Hayden [Panettiere who plays Claire], and I would say those are the three people I've stayed the most consistently with. I feel so connected to the whole cast but, for some reason, I feel a great connection to those three. I also certainly worked with Milo and Jack quite a bit in the first season. But I remember feeling trepidation about how I would be received, since I was coming in as the villain. From day one, they were supportive, encouraging, and a really good group of people to work with. They've become an extension of my professional family.
From week to week, do you feel Sylar had some masterplan, or was he simply insane and power hungry?
I think hunger is the primary underlying motivation for Sylar. Hunger for power, hunger for validation, for approval, for meaning, and for purpose. Those are all the things that drive him. Ultimately, a plan took shape as the season progressed, but I think the masterplan was to acquire as much power as possible. What to do with it then becomes a separate issue.
Heroes established these wonderful, conflicted characters throughout the season, so was it difficult when you discovered Isaac would be Sylar's next victim?
That was hard. Santiago [Cabrera] and I had become friends, and I had a lot of respect for him as a person and an actor. It is the unfortunate reality of the show we are on, and an unfortunate role I will probably have to fulfill again at some point down the line. It is a bummer and it is hard because these are your friends and then it becomes about something else. But everybody knows that this is a part of what we are doing, everybody is aware, including myself, that in order to serve the progression of the story and quality of the show, you might have to sacrifice your part in that in order to let it continue on to a greater life. Nobody handled that greater than Santiago last year, and it was really moving to be in his final scenes as he was leaving the show.
• Check out the rest of the interview in Issue Two of Heroes Magazine - on sale in the UK on 10 January and in the US on 15 January!
