Zachary Quinto Dishes On New Audible Drama ‘The Method’ & Future Of J.J. Abrams ‘Star Trek’ Films

A frustrated actor dangerously blurs the lines between fantasy and reality in the James Patterson’s new Audible drama: The Method.

Television, film, and now voiceover icon Zachary Quinto (who co-created the project with Patterson and executive produced under his Before the Door banner) steps into the role of Brent Quill, whose devotion to the “Method” school of acting has unforeseen consequences when he dives headfirst into the role of a brutal serial killer.

“I love doing voiceover work,” Quinto tells me over Zoom. “I love doing projects like this. There’s a certain kind of liberation that exists because you never have to worry about anything other than how you sound. Everything comes down to the aural experience and that’s an exciting way to work. There aren’t the restrictions of how you make something cinematic or how you tell a story based on any kind of aesthetic. You can really let loose.”

While Quinto himself doesn’t subscribe to the philosophy of method acting, he sees no problem with throwing yourself into a character, so long as it doesn’t come at the expense of making others feel uncomfortable. “I predicate my experiences in life and in my work on clear boundaries,” the actor explains. “That’s really important to me — psychologically, emotionally, personally, creatively, and professionally.”

With that said, he does believe that “certain characters have an impact, psychologically and emotionally, on an actor’s life. That’s unavoidable and I’ve certainly experienced that, bringing characters home with me, per se — having my own psyche influenced by the emotional life of the character. But I’ve never lost myself or blurred the lines between who I am and who a character is.”

Written by Patterson and Michael B. Silver, The Method features an all-star supporting cast of Stephanie Beatriz (Encanto), Lil Rel Howery (Free Guy), Justine Lupe (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise), Gideon Glick (The Pale Blue Eye), Ethan Herschenfel (Red Notice), Adam Lazarre-White (Heroes), Judith Light (Julia), Margo Martindale (BoJack Horseman), Graham Powell (The Equalizer), and Silver.

“It was all pretty individual, unfortunately,” Quinto says of the recording process, which took place against the uber-cautious backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Oftentimes, when you’re in a recording situation, you’re not usually doing scenes with your scene partner, even in the best of times … I went into the studio for…I think it was like five days to do my side of everything. We had readers and people that came in to support that part of the process. But unfortunately, I didn’t really get to work with my co-stars as much as I certainly would have liked to.”

He did get to bring his dogs to the sessions, though the lovable canines found themselves a little spooked when their owner had to feign psychotic breaks. “I would have to sort of reassure my dogs that everything was okay and that it wasn’t actually happening,” Quinto remembers. “I think maybe once or twice, I had to put them in another part of the studio just because it was too intense for them to comprehend.”

In terms of working arm-in-arm with Patterson, Quinto says he learned a great deal about “streamlining narrative and serving the plot at all costs [and] at all times; making sure that you’re hitting certain milestones along the way of telling a story to keep audiences engaged, and making sure the characters continue to evolve and develop. There’s a lot of moving parts when you’re trying to tell a story like this and I think there are very few authors at the level of James Patterson who have the skill set — and certainly the pedigree — to make stories like this come to life.”

Danya Taymor (niece of Broadway legend, Julie Taymor) directed The Method, bringing “a lot of insight and an understanding as to how to tell the story in this medium,” Quinto adds. “Her notes and her observations, were really wonderful and I hope I get a chance to work with her when we’re both in the same room.”

On the big screen side of his career, Quinto dreams of the day he step back onto the bridge of the U.S.S Enterprise as Spock in a fourth Star Trek movie from producer J.J. Abrams. “I’d love to play the role again and come back together with the team,” the actor says. “I think we all love each other and we all love working on these stories. I’m confident that it will come together, but I just don’t have the space to consider what that looks like until I know it’s the real thing.”

Another entry in the rebooted Star Trek cinematic universe has started and stalled for several years now. Just recently, it seemed like the film would finally make the jump to warp speed with WandaVision alum Matt Shakman at the helm. The director bowed out just a month later to focus on Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four reboot.

“I have no idea if — or when — it will ever come together at this point,” Quinto concludes, adopting a Vulcan-like nonchalance. “I think it’s better for everybody’s mental well-being to just trust that a lot’s happening and when the phone rings, and J.J. says, ‘Hey, we’re actually really going to do this,’ then I’ll show up. But until then, I have a lot of other stuff going on and a lot of stuff to turn my attention to.”

A most logical answer. The Method is now available to purchase via Audible.