How the True Story of Dr. Oliver Sacks Inspired NBC’s ‘Brilliant Minds’

Nearly 20 years after his breakthrough role on “Heroes,” Zachary Quinto returns to NBC as a world-renowned eccentric doctor in “Brilliant Minds.” The “Star Trek” and “American Horror Story” star plays Dr. Oliver Wolf, a neurologist who lives with a brain disorder — prosopagnosia, colloquially known as “face blindness” — and believes “you can’t treat a patient without understanding who they really are, and sometimes the only cure is to break the rules.”

But Dr. Oliver Wolf is not a product of fiction and these philosophies were not invented for the cinema: he draws his roots from the incredible true story of a legendary doctor. Here’s what you need to know about the truth of “Brilliant Minds.”

Is “Brilliant Minds” based on a true story?

Yes, but it doesn’t strictly follow the details of the real Dr. Oliver.

“Brilliant Minds” is inspired by the life and writings of renowned British physician, author and professor Dr. Oliver Sacks. However, the show will adapt cases from his books as cases of the week for Dr. Wolf and his team, but will also reimagine them in a contemporary context and dramatize them for television.

Who is Dr. Oliver Sacks and what does he have in common with Dr. Oliver Wolf?

“The brain shapes us and is shaped by us – it is who we are.” — Dr. Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks was a renowned neurologist. Born in 1933, he died in 2015 after a pioneering career studying countless neurological disorders, including epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, autism, dementia, and schizophrenia. He also became a bestselling essayist and author, translating his knowledge into a series of books.

At the Television Critics Association’s summer 2024 press tour, Quinto described Dr. Sacks as his “north star” in his approach to the role of Dr. Wolf.

“He was an incredible, complex, inspiring, influential doctor and person,” the actor explained. “So it’s a very unique alchemy for me, where I can play a character that’s inspired by a real person, but I’m not tied to the era or the behavior of that person in real life. I can take the whole rich tapestry of who Oliver Sacks was and inform the creation of Oliver Wolf, but Oliver Wolf exists in his own world.”

Where does the name Dr. Wolf come from? Well, it also comes from Oliver Sacks, whose middle name was Wolf. Among other details included in the series, Sacks in the real world was passionate about both his motorcycle and swimming in the rivers of New York.

Sacks was also gay, as depicted in the series, although he came out much later in life, just months before his death, in his memoir “On the Move: A Life.”

“Playing an openly gay character on a primetime television show is an incredibly important honor for me. I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to tell these stories and to use Oliver Sacks’ life as a starting point for these stories,” Quinto said during the TCA panel.

“Oliver Sacks was deeply influenced by the times he grew up in and the social restrictions that kept people from living their lives to the fullest,” Quinto continues. “So he didn’t come out until much later. He ended up meeting a partner and had a very happy relationship for the rest of his life. But to play a character who embraces that aspect of himself in the modern world and in a way that’s vital and contemporary and forward-looking is really special.”

His sexuality and relationship with his partner Bill Hayes were chronicled in Ric Burns’ documentary “His Own Life”, filmed over a period of a few days towards the end of Sacks’ life.

Was he really face blind?

In the series, Dr. Oliver Wolf doesn’t just study brain diseases, he’s suffered from one his entire life: prosopagnosia, or “face blindness,” as it’s more commonly known. It’s a real, relatively common condition, and yes, Dr. Oliver Sacks suffered from it too.

What books is “Brilliant Minds” based on?

Executive producer Michael Grassi told TCA that he was sent two books when he was first introduced to the project: “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” (1985) and “The Anthropologist on Mars” (1995).

“There are so many incredible cases that we take from these books and then we move into the present and have conversations that feel urgent and pressing with Oliver Sacks’ incredible material,” Grassi said, noting that the source material was “incredibly informative for what we’re doing on this show.”

The doctor’s books have already been adapted for film. First, Penny Marshall’s 1990 film “Awakenings,” starring Robin Williams in a role inspired by Dr. Sacks and Robert De Niro as his patient. Williams and Sacks became friends after the beloved actor played him, and Sacks described them as “complementary creatures.”

The 1999 romantic drama “At First Sight,” starring Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino, was also adapted from his writings.

“Brilliant Minds” airs Mondays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

The article How the True Story of Dr. Oliver Sacks Inspired NBC’s ‘Brilliant Minds’ appeared first on TheWrap.