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The last Brilliant Minds was bittersweet. No one expected Roman, aka John Doe, to die, and everyone expected that experimental procedure to work.
However, most of the doctors and interns grew close to him and began examining their own lives, dreams, and regrets.
That included the moment many fans had been waiting for — Wolf and Nichols taking the next step in their relationship.
TV Fanatic chatted with Teddy Sears about how working with Roman changed things for Nichols and Wolf. He also teased what’s next for the couple.
In addition, he shared many fun stories about working with Zachary Quinto and his favorite Brilliant Minds cases so far.
Check out the interview below.
So, what do you think it was about Roman’s case that affected everyone so much?
Roman had the unique ability to be in the hospital that long and observe everyone in their professional natural habitat.
Roman had a unique ability to see everyone’s personality and vulnerabilities. He could see us as doctors clearly and observe things that we might be ignoring.
I think Roman has a one-on-one conversation with almost every doctor or intern. I don’t believe I had a one-on-one with him, but that, coupled with Roman’s decision to end his life, was not the outcome I thought was going to happen.
I thought we would see this patient have an awakening to the movie-style arc on the show. I thought we were going to see that type of rehabilitation and have him decide not to go that course and instead end his life, which affected everyone’s vulnerabilities.
It caused everyone to self-reflect and ask themselves, What kind of life am I holding myself back from having?
So, after being seen so clearly and everyone feeling so tender and vulnerable after Roman passed to me, it was the perfect time for self-examination and taking a bold step in the direction we felt like taking.
Wolf took the first step because Josh is cerebral, ordered, structured, and successful.
Even though he felt what everyone else was feeling and was very moved by observing Wolf’s tenderness and unlimited compassion, Josh would have spent much time thinking about his next move.
Wolf just listened to his feelings and took the step, culminating in this kiss, which I’m so excited to see. That is why we find ourselves at the end of Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 7. It’s a very long answer. I hope it answers it.
Our readers love Nichols and Wolf. So, do you think the Roman case pushed them to take the necessary steps?
Oh my gosh. The shorter answer is that Roman’s decision made these two take this next step. It’s what made Wolff take the next step.
It turned something inside of Josh watching Wolf interact with Roman, knowing how much they fought for him to be able to free himself from his locked-in state, only to have him choose a different result.
There’s heartbreak and agony, confusion, vulnerability, and self-reflection.
Roman’s decision cracked everyone wide open and had an incredible ripple effect that suddenly propels Josh and Wolf to new heights. We begin exploring this in episode eight, which is exciting.
You two have worked together before. So, how is it working together in a different dynamic?
Oh, it was great. For those who don’t know, Zach Quinto and I worked together on the first season of American Horror Story in 2011, in that seminal murder House season. Zach became a friend.
My wife and I would run into him probably once a year, or I’d reach out to him. She and I flew to New York to see him in Glass Menagerie on Broadway.
We just had this relationship where I would bump into him and check in on him repeatedly. I am very familiar with it. First of all, I have great respect for him. He’s not only done Broadway, like I mentioned, but West End in London.
To me, he’s an actor of a specific caliber that is in a bit more rarefied air than, honestly, I would put myself in. So, I look up to him professionally. I like him personally.
I remember these flashbacks to these six-hour marathon scenes in the first season of American Horror Story.
Zach said something in a certain way and delivered a line in a specific way that took me back. There’s a comfort in working with someone; years later, we’re older and in different places.
It’s fun for me. We did four episodes together on that, and now our storylines are so profoundly intertwined on this show that I’m excited to see where it will go because we get to experience a greater depth in our scenes than we ever did on Horror Story.
I’m thrilled they are writing for us because I’m such a fan of his. I play in the sandbox with him every day, and it’s just incredible.
As I said, our readers are also very excited. Can you tease whether we will see more of Nichols and Wells together?
We will see more of these two together as they work to figure out what is happening in Brilliant Minds Episode Season 1 Episode 8. What’s this spark? Is it something worth discussing?
Is it something worth pursuing? We find a tidy resolution at the end of episode eight, but it’s not a straight line. It’s not linear.
This episode features many ups and downs between these two. These two characters have a deep respect for each other, even though they may have different approaches to patient care.
There is attraction, attention, and deep respect, a firm foundation for something substantial, not just fleeting. We’re going to explore that going forward.
Well, I can’t wait. Finally, what has been your favorite case so far? And do you have any upcoming cases that will provide more insight into your character?
Good question. What’s my favorite case so far?
I still think about the scene with Zach and Steve Howey in the car with the spinal needle while driving, the rapid-fire nature of us speaking to each other, the pattern that Zach and I had, and the coordination of the surgical needle.
Dustin from Equinox came in at the wrong time.
That was an excellent case for me because it was the first time we got a sense of Nichols, how he talks to patients, delivers news, and has a bedside manner. Figuring that out was really fun for me as an actor.
These are questions I didn’t know. How do I talk to patients? How businesslike am I?
These were fun things to figure out on set when shooting it.
Without spoiling anything, we will find ourselves in some pretty harrowing situations in the future. I’m excited to see how those scenes cut together because there’s a critical time element.
It’s Wolf and Nichols working together to try to bring resolution to a very ailing patient.
So, it’s vague, deliberately so. But towards the latter part of the season, the tension gets ratcheted up. And it’s high-octane stuff, and I hope the viewers like it.
Brilliant Minds airs on NBC on Mondays at 10/9c.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.