Zachary Quinto Talks ‘NOS4A2’ Season 2 and Charlie Manx’s Origin Story (Video)
The villain of AMC’s dark drama series is back with a “lust for revenge,” Quinto tells TheWrap
Margeaux Sippell | June 19, 2020 @ 3:49 PM
Last Updated: June 19, 2020 @ 4:44 PM
Zachary Quinto returns as Charlie Manx in the second season of AMC’s “NOS4A2,” premiering Sunday, June 21 — and the vampire villain has got a “lust for revenge,” says the actor.
Quinto, who is known for villainous roles like Sylar on “Heroes” and Dr. Thredson on “American Horror Story: Asylum” as well as for heroic roles like Spock in the newest “Star Trek” movies, visited StudioWrap over video chat for a talk about what we can expect to see from his character in season two.
For those in need of a quick refresher, last we saw Manx in the first season finale, he was a shriveled up old man rotting away in a hospital bed — a look Quinto said took up to four hours in the makeup chair. But as long as Manx’s old Rolls Royce Wraith is still running, his heart is still beating, and that’s where the beginning of season two picks up.
“I think one of the things we learned at the end of season 1 was how inextricably tied Charlie’s well being is to the car, to the Wraith,” Quinto told us. “So at the beginning of season two, an unwitting car enthusiast finds the burnt-out shell of the wraith and decides to restore it, and doesn’t realize that not only is he waking up this old car, but he’s waking up this old vampire. So Charlie comes to and is immediately driven by this lust for revenge, and tracks down Vic McQueen and finds her in a very different spot than where we left her, and that kicks off season 2. Vic is now in a completely different place in her life, she’s got a family of her own and a kid of her own, which is obviously going to factor into her ongoing conflict with Charlie.”
Season two also will explain a lot of Manx’s backstory and how he came to be the vision of evil that he is now, Quinto says.
“You understand a little bit more of the origins of the trauma in Charlie’s life that lead him to the choices he’s made,” Quinto said. “How difficult things were for him at different points along the way is something that gets revealed. So I think you come away as an audience with a fuller understanding of who Charlie is. He becomes a little bit more three-dimensional and not such a monolithic villain.”
Having had a lot of experience playing villains, Quinto also shared some wisdom about how humans become monsters.
“Any evil person ultimately isn’t born that way. An evil person becomes evil through a series of their own traumas or experiences of abandonment or neglect or abuse,” he said. “That’s very true for Charlie, and as much as he’s tried to crawl out from under the weight of those personal injustices. He was never able to do it, and eventually, the darkness they generated in him overtook him, and that’s the genesis of how he becomes this monster.”
Watch our full interview above.
“NOS4A2” season two premieres Sunday, June 21 at 10/9c on AMC.
What to Watch on Juneteenth: A TV Viewing Guide (Photos)
In honor of Juneteenth, we've gathered a list of special programming across several networks to commemorate the holiday that celebrates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, and delivered the news that all enslaved people were free. Juneteenth is still not recognized as a federal holiday, but it is recognized by several states -- and this year, many companies are declaring it a paid holiday in light of the Black Lives Matter movement and national protesting that has taken place following the death of George Floyd.
Netflix, ABC, FX
TV One
At 1 p.m. ET, TV One will be showing the film "Behind the Movement" which "features the actual bus where Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger on December 1, 1955, spiraled into the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott," according to the network. It stars Meta Golding, Loretta Devine, Isaiah Washington and Roger Guenveur Smith.
TV One
BET
Starting at 7 a.m. PT, BET will premiere social justice episodes of series, inspirational films, music videos and messages of perseverance, tenacity and hope from leading Black voices to showcase Black achievement. That includes "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Selma." There will also be some free content streaming online, including “Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story."
"Selma"
OWN
The Oprah Winfrey Network will be showing special encore airings beginning at 3 p.m., including “Dark Girls,” “Light Girls," “Oprah & Lupita Nyong’o on Colorism,” “Oprah Winfrey Presents: Legends Who Paved the Way” and “OWN Spotlight: Where Do We Do Go From Here?” parts one and two.
OWN
AMC and IFC
Musical variety sketch show "Sherman's Showcase" returns with a one-hour special called "Black History Month Spectacular," premiering at 10 p.m. on AMC and then again at 11 p.m. on IFC.
IFC
FX
Starting at 7 a.m., FX will have a day's worth of Juneteenth programming including "Hidden Figures," "Selma," "Get Out," and a marathon of "Atlanta" and "Blackish."
FX
ABC and Nat Geo
At 8 p.m. ET, the networks will simulcast ABC News' "Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming," a special that presents "intimate stories, examining the legacy of the holiday through the current lens of political and social unrest that has captured global attention," and features "stories of Black-owned businesses, the struggle to pass congressional anti-lynching legislation, the power of Black spirituality and the church and other houses of faith, and how a legacy of suffering has often been transformed into joy through the lens of artists."
ABC News
HBO
All nine episodes of "Watchmen" will be available to stream for free online at HBO.com June 19-21. Other free programming includes “Being Serena," "Bessie," "Whoopi Goldberg presents Moms Mabley," "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," "United Skates," "Jerrod Carmicheal’s Home Videos," "Lil’ Rel Live In Crenshaw," "The Apollo," and select episodes of "The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency," "The Shop," "Treme" and "True Detective."
HBO
Hulu
Episode four of "Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi" will be available for free on Hulu's YouTube channel June 19-2. Called “The Gullah Way,” the episode features The Gullah Geechee people of South Carolina as they fight "to preserve the traditions passed down from their ancestors, West Africans forced into slavery. In the episode, Padma catches and cracks crab with new friends and old and learns how they are working towards reclaiming their heritage."
Hulu
Facebook Watch
Steve Harvey sits down with Kimberly Jones, an NAACP Image Award nominee, activist and author, for a conversation about her viral video and why the current protests are happening around the Black Lives Matter movement. Watch the episode on Harvey's Facebook Watch series "Steve on Watch."
Facebook Watch
Ovation 24-hour programming block
Starting at 6 a.m. ET, Ovation is presenting a 24-hour programming schedule featuring black voices like Beyoncé, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alfre Woodard, Michelle Obama and Pharrell Williams. Programming includes "Nina Simone, The Legend," "Sammy Davis, Jr. – The Very Best of the Rat Pack," "Pharrell: Happy-Go-Lucky," "Rihanna: No Regrets," "Ride to Freedom: The Rosa Parks Story," and more. View the full schedule here.
via YouTube
Netflix
Earlier this month, the network curated a special collection of 47 titles highlighting the black experience titled "More Than a Moment," featuring programming like Ava DuVernay's documentary "13th" and limited series "When They See Us," the Netflix original series "Dear White People," and "Malcolm X." View more titles at the streaming service's Black Lives Matter landing page.
Netflix
UMC
The streaming service will be highlighting select programming for the holiday, including "The Tombs," a short film about "a Brooklyn man's three-day journey through New York's infamous Central Booking jail system," and "Blood Done Sign My Name," described as "the electrifying true story of a brutal racial murder in North Carolina, and the extraordinary courage of those who fought to change a small town's legacy of hatred and discrimination." All are currently available to stream on UMC.
"Blood Done Sign My Name" trailer via YouTube
MSNBC.com
Stream the inaugural social justice conference "Faith for Black Lives JusticeCon" on MSNBC.com, featuring former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Color of Change President Rashad Robinson and more beginning at 9 a.m. ET.
MSNBC
1 of 14
From ABC News’ “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming” to OWN’s “Oprah and Lupita Nyong’o on Colorism”
In honor of Juneteenth, we've gathered a list of special programming across several networks to commemorate the holiday that celebrates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, and delivered the news that all enslaved people were free. Juneteenth is still not recognized as a federal holiday, but it is recognized by several states -- and this year, many companies are declaring it a paid holiday in light of the Black Lives Matter movement and national protesting that has taken place following the death of George Floyd.
Netflix, ABC, FX
TV One
