The Boys in the Band actor Zachary Quinto joined Stephen Colbert on The Late Show May 21 to talk about his return to Broadway and his upcoming TV series In Search Of . The Star Trek actor, who plays Spock (originated by actor Leonard Nimoy), now steps into another Nimoy role as the host of The History Channel’s reboot of the series.
“We're trying to keep the familiarity of the show, but to move it in a new direction and to invite audiences in to look at things the way we see them now,” said Quinto of the TV show.
It seems Quinto is doing the same in theatre with The Boys in the Band. “It was an incredible hit. It was revolutionary—nobody had seen anything like it,” said the actor. But he also appreciates that this 2018 incarnation marks another milestone: “The fact that this is an entirely out, gay cast, I think, is a huge hallmark of advances we made in that time. It's hysterically funny, but it also explores what it is to internalize societal bigotry, judgment.... I think there's no better time to be telling this story than now.
“Sometimes I feel like the things about ourselves that we might not be comfortable with ... through the work that we can do as creative people and in our own lives can be the most powerful and most exciting parts of our experience, and I think this production has proven that,” he continued.
The Joe Mantello-directed play marks Quinto’s return to the Booth Theatre, where he last appeared as Tom in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. He brought along a souvenir from that turn. “This was given to me by my co-star Cherry Jones,” he said of a tiny golden swan. “This is allegedly, it belonged to Tennessee Williams himself, and it was used for cocaine.”
