Bill OBoyle: Memories of Tommy Woods will always be WARM for all who knew him
May 24—WILKES-BARRE — Tommy Woods had a way about him — a smile, a joke, a genuineness, and a golden voice.
Whenever you were around Tommy Woods, you got a very WARM feeling.
Thomas Robert Woods, 86, of Wilkes-Barre Township, passed away Monday, May 19, at his home.
When I heard the news, my reaction was like all others who ever had the pleasure of his friendship — overwhelming sadness.
Tommy always made you feel better — and he did it with such sincerity that you actually felt enriched by hearing it — believing that, perhaps, you were as special as Tommy made you feel.
In many ways, Tommy reminded me of my dad — guys like them defined what it means to be a gentleman.
Tommy's career in broadcast spanned over 65 years — he was a well-known radio and TV celebrity, a DJ and announcer, having worked locally at WARM Radio, WILK Radio, and as Director of Creative Services at WBRE TV.
Tommy was all about community, as his wife, Fran, would often talk about. And he was a man of faith.
His obituary said this:
"Tom led a life filled with purpose and passion, thriving in a career that brought him joy and fulfillment. His unwavering faith served as the foundation for his many contributions to the community, where he brought people together as an engaging emcee for concerts, shows and parades, and offered support to those battling addiction. A true friend to all, Tom cherished long-lasting relationships and had a remarkable ability to remember the unique stories and details of everyone he encountered. Most of all, he adored time with his family, especially his five grandchildren, with whom he shared many laughs and Grandpop jokes."
You could never fully recount all that Tommy Woods accomplished in his life — icons are icons. Tommy Woods was an icon in so many ways.
Last year, the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame inducted Tommy and the Legends of WARMland for all they did, not just for building an incredible audience for WARM, but for bringing so much joy to adults and teenagers alike.
David Yonki, author of the "590 Forever" blog, once told me that WARM Radio was a constant in a Baby Boomer's life.
"It got you through your first crush in grade school, entertained you in high school and as an adult was the first place you turned to for news, sports or weather," Yonki said. "WARM, the Mighty 590, was always there."
And Tommy Woods was right there through it all.
WARM at its peak had a share of over 50% of the audience. It brought Wilkes-Barre Scranton together as "WARMland" and everyone remembers that famous catchphrase — "It's only WARM for me."
Just about every radio owned by just about everybody under 25 back then was tuned to WARM.
I will never forget those sunny weekends when we would head out to Harveys Lake and Sandy Beach with our towels and transistor radios and everybody there was listening to WARM.
Yes, it was hot, but for kids, it really was only WARM for us.
To this day, we talk about the days when we first heard those songs of the 60s and we remembered how back in the day we enjoyed the Lake, the Shore, the music and the Mighty 590 AM playing hit after hit.
Yonki agrees that Tommy Woods had a remarkable life that was jam packed with a career that gave him access to celebrities, political figures, and regular folks.
"He was comfortable with all of them," Yonki said of Woods. "With Tom Woods, after you finished a conversation, your day just became better."
Tommy served on the Luzerne County Convention Center Authority since May 2014 and was a steadfast champion for the Mohegan Arena.
The authority said this about Tommy Woods:
"His passion for this venue and unwavering commitment to the growth of Wilkes-Barre Township and the greater NEPA region were evident in every meeting, decision, and conversation he was a part of. Beyond his professional contributions, Tom was a passionate, kind and thoughtful leader and friend whose presence will be greatly missed by all of us."
That really says it all about Tommy Woods.
For me, well, my memories of Tommy Woods will always be WARM.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
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Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
‘Forever' is supposed to be a teen romance. So why are Black moms obsessed?
The messages in my mom group chat kept multiplying. First there were 10 unreads. Then 12. Now 20. What episode are you on? Catch up! When can we discuss? Cocktails! We were all suddenly and unexpectedly hooked on 'Forever,' the Netflix teen romance adapted by executive producer Mara Brock Akil from the 50-year-old Judy Blume novel of the same name. Brock Akil had already painted the fullness of the Black experience on TV in both multi-cam sitcoms ('Girlfriends,' 'The Game') and hour-long dramas ('Being Mary Jane,' 'Love Is __'). Her shows offer dimension and something to chew on. It's no surprise that her sumptuous take on 'Forever' is teeming with Black life. What was surprising was how 'Forever' — a story known for tackling love and sex from two teens' perspectives — snuck up on us. We're middle-aged mamas after all. We should've been getting precious sleep that Thursday in May when the show dropped, not bingeing until 2 a.m. But hidden inside the show's meet-cute plot was an emotional snare rigged specifically for Black mothers. Set in Los Angeles in 2018, 'Forever' follows high-schoolers Keisha (Lovie Simone) and Justin (Michael Cooper Jr.) as they trip into a first love that's confusing, all-consuming and life-changing. But what continues to spark discussions among the Black women I talked to wasn't the drama between those star-crossed lovers from the opposite sides of the 10 freeway. No, they focused on the mothers of 'Forever' — particularly Justin's 'catastrophic' parent, Dawn, who reared her children from a place of fear, protection and a deep love that so many in my mom group recognized. For them, watching Dawn (Karen Pittman), an upper-class Black mother trying to safely and successfully launch her child into adulthood while navigating the meteors of adolescence and the minefield of being a Black man in America, was a gut check. It was like looking into an iPhone camera and a crystal ball, the images familiar and a little fear-inducing too. Is that what I really look like? Sound like? ''Forever' is hitting me hard,' messaged one friend, whose son is on the cusp on puberty. Another was particularly moved by 'how our dreams for our children and for who they will be can become their biggest challenges and obstacles,' she wrote. Others saw themselves in Dawn as the mother of neurodiverse son, an athlete, a child raised in privilege they didn't have. 'When I tell you I'm this mama!!!' texted another friend. When we first meet Dawn, she establishes herself as a mother who is 'not one of your little friends.' It's New Year's Eve and Justin wants to go to a party. But Dawn, husband Eric (Wood Harris) and their younger son already have family game night set up. Draped in a silk robe and holding court at their kitchen island, she grills Justin about this 'party' like a prosecutor: Was he invited specifically? Where is it? Who all's going to be there? Blank stare. 'No information, no party,' says Dawn, emphasizing her stance with a 'not gonna happen' hand slice across her neck. 'We got cops out here shooting Black boys like it's open season and I'm tripping?' Dawn says incredulously. Justin argues that some of his fancy private-school classmates don't even come home on the weekend. Dawn fires back that they're mostly White and he is most definitely not. The conversation devolves. Justin gets sent to his room, where eventually Eric, the straight-talking dad, throws his son a lifeline with some conditions. But the lines are drawn. Dawn's boundaries are clear. She isn't budging when it comes to her son. Why were we gobsmacked? It's not as if Black mothers haven't been fixtures on mainstream television, from Julia Baker ('Julia') to Rainbow Johnson ('Black-ish'). They've been single, married, widowed, poor, bougie, homemakers, doctors, lawyers and English professors. Sure, there have been a handful of Black TV mothers who occupy a particular social stratum on the small screen — married, professional, outspoken. Clair Huxtable of 'The Cosby Show,' to start. But Dawn — with her elite degree, quiet-luxury closet and type-A kung-fu grip on her son's future — felt familiar to us but distinct on TV. Not because of her CV (but there was that), but because her brand of parenting was so uniquely tied to her identity as a Black woman raising a Black son in America today. She isn't a Clair or an Aunt Viv or a Rainbow. 'Those characters feel real, but they also feel like a TV show, right?' sociologist Mia Brantley said. 'When you watch Dawn, there's a realistic aspect to her. I see my friends. I see my own mother. 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'Forever' put a bullhorn behind the common conversations happening in living rooms in Baldwin Hills, Shepherd Park and Park Slope — about the pitfalls of sending Black children to mostly White schools, tasking your child with being 'undeniable' despite knowing how impossible that is, the adultification of Black girls, the genuine excitement that your Black son is dating a Black girl, all the specific anxieties that only Black mothers experience. 'There's just so much there about how our villages function for our children. To be able to access a story about that as a parent and as someone who was once young, dumb and in love is a really special thing,' Packnett Cunningham said. 'So much of this writing is just healing people,' she said. 'I'm prepared to watch is as many times as it takes me to get what I need from it.' Meanwhile, Pittman — Dawn herself — has seen your DMs, the good and the bad. She's gotten so many notes from women who love the character that the veteran actress is thinking of putting 'I am Dawn' on a T-shirt. (Among my mom group, she'd have some buyers.) 'Even if we don't always agree with what Dawn does, we do look at her and we think, 'Gosh, I understand,'' Pittman said. 'I'm deeply compassionate, where this woman is concerned. I know why she's making every choice she's making. I have a very serious take on her. I have a very deeply felt take.' Yes, Pittman has kids, including an adult son. What kind of mom does she think Dawn is? In show, the character says she's been told she has a 'catastrophic parenting style. I damn near have a panic attack if my child wears a hoodie.' But off screen Pittman struggled to define Dawn's mothering, which can be as soft as it is sharp. When Justin needs a mental health day, she recognizes it instantly and gives him space. And when he's shirking on his college application? She lectures him on being 'undeniable.' 'She appears to be very antagonistic in the story,' Pittman said. 'She presents as the villain. She must be, you know, heavy in the role. Her behavior must be much more … angular?' 'Elbows out?' I suggested. 'She's elbows out! And she has to be, you know. Dawn is the supervillain. And that's a steep fall to go, from the superhero to the supervillain,' Pittman said, explaining from her own experience what it's like to parent a young man versus a little boy. Your child's perception of you shifts. 'I'm telling you it's painful,' the actress added. Pittman, who is a series regular on 'The Morning Show' and appeared in the first two seasons of 'And Just Like That,' had been waiting for a role like Dawn. She wanted to play a very specific kind of mother. Not one who's marginalized in the plot, or limited to setting up punch lines for the funnier dad. 'We've been nestled behind our husbands as Black woman on American television, to support them and support the kids. But this character elbows her way to the front, you know what I mean?' For the actress, Dawn isn't alone in the cultural zeitgeist as a professional and outspoken Black mother — she contains some Ketanji Brown Jackson, some Michelle Obama. To that point, Pittman is also very interested in those other DMs she gets, from folks criticizing her character — she's way too aggressive, she's not submissive to her husband, she's racist because Dawn wants her son to date a Black girl. Obviously Karen is not Dawn, but she'll accept that award thank you very much. 'I feel like we could actually be having a cocktail talking about this,' Pittman said when we spoke. Funny she should say that. The same week Netflix announced 'Forever' would get a second season, the thread of the mom group chat was getting too long to read. We needed to process in person, so we congregated one Friday night after putting our kids to bed to process together until the wee hours. Of course our hostess had notes and talking points, and we kicked off what would turn into a late-night conversation by naming our favorite characters. We couldn't all say Dawn. But she was in the room with us, snacking on prosciutto and grapes, because we felt she was us. That was Pittman's goal. 'I want you to just lean in,' she told me, 'and before you know it you see you.'
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10 hours ago
- Forbes
Creating Costumes For Teen True Love In Netflix's 'Forever'
Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) and Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) star in "Forever" on Netflix. Credit: Elizabeth Morris/Netflix © 2024 Elizabeth Morris/Netflix Tanja Caldwell designed the wonderful costumes for Mara Block Ali's Netflix series, Forever. But before that, it feels important to mention the source material on which the series is based. The novel, which has almost the same name, was first published in 1975, by beloved American author Judy Bloom. (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was also by Blume.) Forever-the-book won the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1996, for its 'significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature,' and in 2019 was included in the BBC's list of the 100 Most Inspiring Novels. But regardless of its many commendations, the novel, intended for older teenagers, remains one of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books according to the American Library Association, 50 years after its original date of publication. Why? Because the book discusses sex and acknowledges that teenagers might be competent to both engage in the act and be able to deal with whatever consequences might arise afterwards. The reason the book resonated with teens in the 1970s and the 1990s is the same reason that the series resonates with viewers right now; it is a story that respects the voices of its young characters. In her adaptation, Ali made a point of conveying that respect, and of never looking down on her characters simply because they are young. Tiffany (Paigion Walker), Christian (Xavier Mills), Brittany (Adriyan Rae), and Shelly Clark (Xosha Roquemore) . Cr. Elizabeth Morris/Netflix © 2024. Elizabeth Morris/Netflix 'That was very important to Mara,' Caldwell told me, 'it was very important to Regina, who directed the first episode and was one of the executive producers, and all the directors that came on. Everyone, with Mara's lead, was about making it real and genuine to the time and to the people, the adults and especially the young people who are our main characters in this series. It was important to show that growth throughout. I think it's important to show young people in the diversity that they have, even at a young age. I think that gets them interested in their own storytelling, when we tell them in a way that's real and genuine to them.' [Caldwell, I need to tell you, was an assistant costume designer on Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, working under the incomparable Ruth Carter. It is so cool, I had to make sure you knew this.] Forever takes place in 2018 and 2019, a time which, post-Covid, feels almost technicolor in its innocence. These are also years that many members of Gen Z, the generation immediately following us millennials, spent in high school. Seven or eight years later those kids are all adults. Caldwell understood this, and she worked very hard to make her costumes Los Angeles in exactly those two years. Her research was incredibly extensive and the costumes reflect this fact, they are better for her diligent attentions but they never pull from the action occurring in a scene. Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.), Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone), Chloe (Ali Gallo), Aunt Katherine (Polly Draper) , Uncle Michael (Tim Bohn), and Jeanine (Sherri Saum) at the beach in episode five. Credit: Elizabeth Morris/Netflix © 2024 Elizabeth Morris/Netflix 'There are significant fashion differences between 2018-2019 and today,' Caldwell said, 'but there are also a lot of similarities. It was really important to make some distinguishing wardrobe options and choices, but we also were able to still play with more modern fashion, which helped us out a lot. The process for me really is discovery and research, about these different characters from the script, but also what young culture was in LA at that time.' Wardrobe on any production is a blend of apparel purchased, rented, tailored, remade, made from scratch. This show was no different, but needing clothing that was from a specific window of time, less than a decade old, meant the costume designer spent a lot of time in Los Angeles vintage stores. 'It was fun to dabble in vintage things, archive things, rare sneakers, rare t-shirts, things of that nature,' she told me when I asked about this. 'It was really fun to dig. When I was a teenager, I really loved vintage, I loved shopping for vintage. I think what I loved more than anything was the hunt, when you were able to find something really beautiful, really amazing, or more than one piece, and it was in great condition, or if it was a designer piece and in your size, so you just so happen to be able to fit it in.' Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) and Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) begin to bond in "Forever." Credit: Elizabeth Morris/Netflix © 2024 Elizabeth Morris/Netflix Figuring out who each character is, what they would wear and why, is something worked out between more than one person. The script might be specific about clothing, the showrunner and/or director will have thoughts, the production designer and the scenes they stage will impact how costumes read. Actor spend a lot of time figuring out who they are portraying, and for some performers that involves collaborating with the costume designer. It's a lot to think about and remember. 'Part of what I love about costume design is the research,' Caldwell said to me with a smile, deflecting my praise with precision. 'The discovery, who these characters are and how we see them through a lens of fashion, what will be distinguishing about their characters. One thing I talked about with Mara was creating somewhat of a uniform for Justin. Not that he was wearing the exact same thing, but if you look, you'll see most of the time he has a certain uniformity to what he's wearing.' 'He's always in Dickies,' the designer continued, 'different colors, some may be shorter or longer or more narrow or a little more aged. But he's always in Dickies, some form of a t-shirt, whether it's a plain shirt or it's a band shirt or something with a subliminal message on it. Then he's got a flannel shirt or some type of second layer, which I think is really indicative of Los Angeles culture. Layering is a big thing out here, just with the change of the weather.' Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) in an awesome Dr. Dre tee from Episode 1 of "Forever." Credit: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Netflix © 2024 Hilary Bronwyn Gayle, SMPSP/Netflix When she was reading the script, the costume designer told me, she could feel the influence on Justin's character from his parents. She thought this might be something that would peek into his wardrobe, a tiny bit. 'His mother, especially,' Caldwell said. 'Whether he wants it or not, her influence, her hand on him is extremely close and heavy. I thought, if she's buying his clothes and she's watching him that closely, she's make sure he does his homework, she's got a tutor for him. She stays in touch with everything that he has going on. She's going to have some hands on his clothes. He's not going to have ripped distressed jeans with a lot of holes, w he's always going to look clean and put together, but still having his thumbprint on it some way, somehow.' 'With Karen Pittman's character, Justin's mother, having to be so strict because she loves him so much, maybe even a little bit to her fault, maybe a little bit overbearing. I think she still wants her son to show up in the world a certain way, that's how my parents were. You have some freedom to express yourself. But there are certain things in fashion, certain trends that you're allowed to do at this age and others you're not allowed to do, that's not the type of image you want to present yourself at this age or under my roof. These are the standards. I feel like that was more or less the way Justin's mother influences his style. His dad, I think he's the good cop. He doesn't say a lot, but when he speaks to his son, he always says something really profound and you just get it and there are some similarities in even the way that they dress. Even in the sweatshirts and hoodies, dad usually is very well put together, but he has this laid back feel. He's never super buttoned up or stuffy, but he doesn't look drabby or disheveled either. I think that's part of him being a chef and also an artist. I think that's why he may understand his son a little bit better.' Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) and Darius (Niles Fitch) in personalized variation of their school uniforms. Credit: Elizabeth Morris/Netflix © 2024 Elizabeth Morris/Netflix As my regular readers will know, I am fascinated by uniforms, by the many, many ways there are to make or source garments en masse. I do love the challenge of military uniforms, but the sort worn to private schools offer similar challenges. 'We bought a ton of uniforms in the beginning,' Caldwell told me, 'because we knew we were going to need a multitude of them for background. We got a multitude of sizes. But before we even did that, we locked down with production, Mara especially, what the colors of the school are. Because there's a whole lot of work that goes into just clearing the name of a school and the colors that you use.' This is what I mentioned a little earlier, how no decision can be made independently of others. Telling stories on film is, by the nature of the medium, a collaborative art form. 'Once we decide what the colors are and what the name of the school is,' Caldwell told me, 'then we go out and we purchase from a uniform store. Then we go out and buy things for the main characters, just to add a little zhuzh to their particular uniform. But in this case, we tried to keep it really true to what it really is in LA. And a lot of private schools give you certain guidelines, on certain days you can wear this, and on certain days you can't. We were modeling their school off of a school that Mara and her nieces or nephews had actually gone to in Los Angeles. We tried to keep to what those standards and rules were. They all had their own little something because I think that's important.' Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) in her school's uniform. Courtesy of Netflix Our main characters, Justin Edwards and Keisha Clark, don't attend the same high school, though they both do go to schools in LA. 'So, different colors and also two different standards of what the procedures are for those uniforms,' Caldwell reminded me. 'We did that research, and then we came about it organically. We tried on a bunch of different versions, the vest with the skirt, the vest with the plain skirt versus the plaid skirt. Her school didn't have a blazer. His school did, but didn't feel right for him but it felt great for Darius.' I asked the designer what she was concerned about most for Forever, what part of her job seemed to be most vitally attached to the arc the characters follow. 'For me, it was about trying not to draw so far outside the lines. I wanted to still be real and honest. And I love that the kids can wear their own sneakers, we definitely played that up with both of them. We definitely went in on the shoes. I think that was important, I think It's important to see representations of ourselves at every stage of life. If art is to imitate life, and vice versa, we have to show all those different stages, and we need to show it in the rawest, realest way. I think that sometimes we can be persuaded or influenced to show things in a way that we think we know it to be, not what it really is. So it is all about discovery and asking questions and observing people.' While I watched the series I kept noticing small things, like the way that the sportswear the teens wear after school at practice is carefully curated to the character who wears it. 'That's the thing about costume design,' Caldwell told me when I asked her about this,'just about everything is intentional, whether the viewer is aware of it or not.' How did this work practically? I was very curious, because things never happen on screen by accident, and when I see consistency across time, like I saw over and over in this series, I know it is because a person made certain that it did. The designer told me how she used color to subtly nod to the character wearing each costume. Tammy (Emyri Crutchfield) and Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) in Episode 1 of "Forever." Credit: Elizabeth Morris/Netflix © 2024 Elizabeth Morris/Netflix 'For Tammy,' Caldwell explained, 'we put more in these darker muted colors, but they were still rich. We kept Keisha in the bright fluorescents, just because she's the star not only of the show, but she's also the star of the team. She's really pushing herself to get on a university track team and get that scholarship so she can attend. So I wanted her to stand out, even amongst her peers, when she was running. Even when she was with Christian at the Nike camp, I wanted her to seem bright. When she's at the Canyon, which worked really well because it was dawn, she's in a fluorescent orange, two-piece sports bra and matching shorts. When she's first running against Tammy and wins, she's in a fluorescent yellow Nike bra top and Nike shorts.' I asked Caldwell if she would tell me about something she was really proud of, something she figured out or made happen for Forever. There are so many more solutions than we are conditioned to see, and costume design is excellent proof that I am correct. A dozen costume designers presented with the same challenge would come back with a dozen different ways of making it happen. So, while working on this Netflix series, Caldwell generously told me this story, 'This was a really crazy story and something you don't see as much. We were doing interstitials, towards episode eight, Instagram shots that you see really quick that helps us pass time. There is a shirt that we actually made, one that we found, that was vintage,' the designer told me. 'We had to get it made because we needed multiples of it. And later we ended up revisiting it in a scene with Keisha and with Justin. ' 'In those shots,' Caldwell explained, 'Mara was putting them at a Little Uzi Vert concert. We went and found the Little Uzi Vert tour t-shirts from 2018, 2019, saw what those shirts looked like, and we really tried to get them. We only found one or maybe two. Scouring the world, you know, Etsy and vintage shops online and here in LA. The one thing about vintage is that when you're not looking for it, that's when you find it. If you look for something, you never find it. A few of them we had to recreate because we didn't have enough to place on all four actors. Costume designer Tanja Caldwell. Courtesy of Tanja Caldwell 'What's great about our process is in the beginning of prep, we were able to just start collecting a lot of beautiful vintage things. LA still has quite a few really great vintage stores that still collect, an assortment of really great tees in great condition. That was something from the research, in 2018, 2019, what did band tees look like? What concerts were going on? What artists were big then that teenagers were listening to?' Would she be willing to share any names of the places she likes to shop for vintage. 'I'm not a gatekeeper,' the designer said to me with a laugh. 'I like to share information because I like to get their information back. 'We found some really good t-shirts at American Rag on Melrose,' she continued. 'They're always really helpful and were really great, especially with Justin's band tees. They have a great assortment of vintage; skater, hip hop, old vintage Ralph Lauren… It was a really one-stop shop that we could go to. There's a really great shop, Virgo, that I love personally. It's in downtown LA and the owner is this really special young woman who started it. I go there to shop and I love their stuff.' When the last episode of Forever came to a close, I desperately wanted to warn the characters that Covid-19 was coming. That is how real these characters and story feel; the suspension of disbelief is as seamless as the costumes Tanja Caldwell designed for the series. 'I'm just really fortunate that I was able to be a part of it,' said the designer. All episodes of season one of Forever are available to stream on Netflix.
Yahoo
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‘Deliciously at odds': Zachary Quinto on embodying the brilliant yet flawed Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds'
Although there's no shortage of medical dramas on the air, Brilliant Minds sets itself apart by taking its inspiration from Oliver Sacks, the famed neurologist whose groundbreaking work was previously dramatized in the film Awakenings. Zachary Quinto jumped at the opportunity to play a version of Sacks, who is "an endlessly fascinating and influential presence in both the world of medicine and literature." That, combined with the creative team behind the show, created "an alchemy to the whole package that felt undeniable to me." Quinto plays Dr. Oliver Wolf, a socially awkward yet exceptional neurologist who utilizes unconventional techniques to treat his patients. Although Robin Williams got the opportunity to work closely with Sacks during the production of Awakenings, Quinto was unable to do the same, since Sacks died in 2015. Yet as Quinto tells Gold Derby, "there's a really unique aspect of this experience," which is that while this is inspired by a real person, "we're also creating a character who is fictional, and exists in a different time and in a different environment than the one in which the real life Oliver Sacks lived and worked. So it was kind of the best of both worlds for me as an actor, because I certainly was able to dive into copious amounts of his writing," as well as "endless interviews with him," while still making it his own. More from GoldDerby Ryan Gosling's 'Star Wars: Starfighter': Everything to know as Mia Goth takes on the Mikey Madison role Olivia Williams was more than happy to be 'the wise old bird' on the 'Dune: Prophecy' set 'Forever' star Lovie Simone on traveling back to a 'nostalgic' time for Netflix's teenage romance show Dr. Oliver Wolf is, as Quinto describes him, "an often misunderstood but incredibly well-meaning person. I don't think he always has the capacity to articulate or communicate as smoothly as maybe he would like to. There's something really special about embodying that. I really found that endearing and appealing about the character. At his core, he is an incredibly brilliant, dedicated, empathetic, and driven doctor, and his main thrust and motivation is really caring for his patients as fully and as generously as he can. There was something about the blending of those two qualities that was deliciously at odds. Those aren't two qualities that necessarily go hand-in-hand, and I love that about him. He's clumsy sometimes. He doesn't suffer fools. He's not interested in listening to differing perspectives. He believes what he believes," which is "every patient he treats deserves respect and dignity, and to be seen." Brendan Meadows/NBC Part of Quinto's job is making sense of the medical lingo his character rattles off as if it's second nature. Unlike other medical dramas, "You're not dramatizing gunshot wounds or heart attacks. It's all neurological cases, so it really is about delving into the mind." So, the question is, "How do I make this dialogue accessible and interesting, and humanize it and invite audiences into it?" It helps that the scripts by creator Michael Grassi and his team feature the input of on-staff medical consultants. "We all have to portray characters for whom this language is everyday jargon, and it's something that we have to be able to pass off as believable, even if the audience isn't meant to know exactly what it means because we're in the process of explaining it to them. We have to come from a place where the characters know exactly what these words mean, and that is always an interesting challenge, but it's a challenge that I really relish." Added into that are the various medical ailments that Dr. Wolf and his team of interns have to deal with week-to-week. "I can't tell you how many times I thought, 'Well, this can't be real,'" says Quinto of the scripts he received. "But then we get directed to the chapter of An Anthropologist on Mars or The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," both books written by Sacks which served as inspiration for the series, "where he chronicled the real life parallel case." All of the cases and conditions dramatized in the show were taken from real life, some of which were treated by Dr. Sacks, and some of which "are adjacent to, or inspired by, those cases. I often felt really challenged in the many, many ways in which our brains and our minds can go astray, and the impacts of that which these patients experience." Among the most surprising patient arcs portrayed in the first season is that of a comatose John Doe who is given the ability to communicate thanks to a revolutionary brain computer. In the show's seventh episode, "The Man From Grozny," we learn that he came to American from Chechnya to flee oppression for being gay, and having told his story, he makes a surprising request for the remainder of his care. "To me, that storyline and the way that it resolved, which was not at all how I expected it to resolve when it was introduced to me as a multi-episode arc, was, I think, the most impactful personally for me," Quinto reveals, as well as "the most impactful in a lot of ways for the audience as the season unfolded." Quinto earned an Emmy nomination in 2013 for American Horror Story: Asylum, and since then has worked mostly in film and theater with occasional stints on television. As Brilliant Minds heads into its second season, he's found a renewed appreciation for "that kind of serialized storytelling that I've been away from for a long time, and I'm actually really grateful to be back to" for the first time since Heroes. "To now be involved in an ongoing series playing the same character who's going through a number of different circumstances and situations is something that I really welcome, and it's been really fulfilling for me creatively." SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Best of GoldDerby 'Say Nothing' star Anthony Boyle on playing IRA activist Brendan Hughes: We 'get to the humanity as opposed to the mythology' The Making of 'The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day': PBS variety special 'comes from the heart' From 'Hot Rod' to 'Eastbound' to 'Gemstones,' Danny McBride breaks down his most righteous roles: 'It's been an absolute blast' Click here to read the full article.
