Zachary Quinto Casts Leonard Nimoy’s Widow Susan in ‘Brilliant Minds’

Leonard Nimoy’s widow Susan will make a surprise appearance in Zachary Quinto’s new NBC medical drama, “Brilliant Minds.”

Quinto became close to the Nimoys when he played Spock in three “Star Trek” films in 2009. Nimoy, who died in 2015, played Spock in the original “Star Trek” series. Quinto stars in ‘Brilliant Minds’ as a hospital neurologist who treats patients with rare mental illnesses. It is inspired by the late Dr. Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and writer played by Robin Williams in 1990’s ‘Awakenings’.

“One of the greatest and most meaningful experiences of my career was playing Spock,” Quinto says in an interview for the next episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast, premiering next week. “The relationship I shared with Leonard Nimoy still resonates to this day. Thanks to Leonard, I became very close to his wife Susan.”

So close that Quinto Susan, 81, flew from her home in the Los Angeles area to Toronto to guest star on an episode of “Brilliant Minds.” “She plays a woman who suffers from a condition that causes her to experience hypersexuality. So she is an 80-year-old nymphomaniac,” says Quinto. “She did such a great job.”

He adds, “She was an actress like she was forty years ago. … I just know her so well, and I know where she is in her life. She is 81 years old. She is one of the most vibrant, open and curious people I have ever met.”

Susan made her acting debut in 1963 in an episode of ‘The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis’. What followed was decades of episodic work, including playing Admiral Rollman on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” She wrote, directed and starred in the short film ‘Eve’ in 2018.

“Brilliant Minds” premieres September 23 on NBC.