Brilliant Minds Cast & Character Guide

Brilliant Minds promises a talented cast of interesting characters who will help tell intriguing stories. NBC’s newest medical drama features a renowned neurologist who has face blindness, a condition which makes it impossible for him to recognize faces, who is leading a team of interns in a prestigious teaching hospital. The protagonist is based on famous neurologist Oliver Sacks, whose real-life story was told in Awakenings, a 1990s movie in which Sacks was played by Robin Williams. The series will be partially based on Sacks’ real-life exploits, though many of the medical cases and characters will be completely fictional.

NBC’s take on Sacks’ life will premiere on September 23, 2024 at 10 PM EST. The concept may appeal to the same audience that watched all 7 seasons of The Good Doctor, as the two shows share the idea of a brilliant doctor who has career challenges related to his neurodivergence. However, Brilliant Minds’ lead character is an already-established doctor who has had extraordinary career success despite his limitations, who oversees a group of new interns. This series has one of the most diverse casts on network TV, reflecting the real-life demographics in the Bronx.

Zachary Quinto As Dr. Oliver Wolf

June 2, 1977

Zachary Quinto was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and broke big in Heroes, though he is best known for his role as Spock in the 2009 remake of Star Trek. He has had many roles in between and has appeared in four seasons of FX’s American Horror Story, playing various characters in the anthology and most recently playing a small, uncredited role as the Gotham Awards Presenter in season 12 of that series.

Quinto will play the lead character in Brilliant Minds. Oliver Wolf is a renowned neurologist who has achieved phenomenal success despite having a condition that makes it difficult for him to recognize faces. Wolf will handle challenging and unique neurological medical cases and oversee a team of interns, which will test whether his leadership skills are as strong as his diagnostic skills. His character will also butt heads with hospital administrators who disapprove of his unorthodox treatment methods.

Tamberla Perry As Dr. Carol Pierce

September 7, 1981

Tamberla Perry was born in Chicago, Illinois and broke big in APB, a one-season drama on FOX that revolved around a billionaire’s attempt to create a private police force to combat the lack of justice in Chicago. She also is well known for her roles as Biddy in the sci-fi mystery They Cloned Tyrone, Judge Charlotte Hazlewood in The Good Fight, Sergeant Lincoln in Bosch, and various roles in The Tam and Kevin Show, a sketch comedy show on Youtube that she did with her husband.

Perry has both comedic and dramatic chops, both of which she will likely use in Brilliant Minds . Her character, Carol Pierce, is the head of psychiatry at Bronx General. She is a close friend and ally of Dr. Wolf’s who convinces him to return to the hospital as an attending and is fiercely loyal to him, and must stand up for him against the hospital administration. This dynamic may be familiar to those who still miss House, which also revolved around an eccentric doctor whose staff needed to stand up for his unorthodox methods.

Brilliant Minds Supporting Cast & Characters

There Are Several Interns Working Under Wolf and Pierce

Several actors play interns at Bronx General Hospital. There is not much known yet about these interns’ personalities or how they will interact with Wolf and Pierce. However, they likely have their own learning styles, preferences, and strong opinions, as this is a standard formula for drama on medical shows.

Alex MacNicholl as Dr. Van Markus — MacNicholl is best known as Colton in Amazon’s Transparent. He also played Peter in 5 episodes of Thirteen Reasons Why and has guest starred on crime dramas such as Bones and Criminal Minds.

Spence Moore II as Dr. Jacob Nash — Moore had a recurring role on ABC’s short-lived reboot of The Wonder Years as Bruce and most recently appeared in All American as Chris Jackson.

Aury Krebs as Dr. Dana Dang — This is her first main cast television role, but she appeared on one episode of Leverage: Redemption and two episodes of Way Down.

Ashleigh LaThrop as Dr. Ericka Kinney — She previously appeared in The Handmaid’s Tale as Natalie and The Komisky Method as Breanna, and has guest starred on many popular shows and movies, most recently NCIS: Hawaii.