Zachary Quinto: Ambiguous characters excite me

Zachary Quinto is drawn to ambiguous characters.

The 38-year-old actor has embodied a variety of roles over the years, from Spock in Star Trek to gay activist Bennett in I Am Michael.

His latest project sees him as CIA agent John Smith in Hitman: Agent 47 and it was the mystery element that drew him in.

"On the one hand I'm trying to blend in but on the other hand I have a whole host of ulterior motives that as the actor I am able to play with, to present in varying degrees. I am fascinated by the idea, the ambiguity of the character, which allows me to paint with different brushes a little bit," he explained denofgeek.com.

"Sure he seems like he's sitting on a bus with other people, blending in, but to me as the actor playing the character there's a whole litany of things running through my mind that allow me to realise that there's other dimensions, and hopefully as an audience I draw them into the mystery of: 'Hey, what's that guy like'"

There are plenty of fight scenes throughout the flick, mainly between Zachary and leading man Rupert Friend, who plays Agent 47. The pair tried to do as many stunts as they could themselves, but were restricted in some cases due to insurance considerations.

That didn't make the experience any less enjoyable though.

"I do think the physical nature of a job like this defines the experience in a different way, the character has to fit in to this larger structure, the action-oriented sequences, and so the degree that the action defines the character defines how he moves, defines how he relates to other individuals and circumstances around him," Zachary added.