Although Zachary Quinto only plays a doctor on television, his character has some very real inspiration. In Brilliant Minds, the Emmy nominee stars as Dr.
Oliver Wolf, inspired by the world-renowned queer neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks, who wrote numerous bestselling books based on his case studies before he died at age 82 in 2015.
Series creator Michael Grassi explained that he’s “doing something different” from other medical procedural dramas, telling Huffington Post, “What really differentiates our show is Oliver Sacks.
This is a love letter to a real-life doctor who treated real-life patients and told their stories.” In the NBC series, which airs Mondays, Wolf suffers from a rare condition that brings a unique quality to his care.