BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Pittsburgh native Zachary Quinto couldn't come out and say that he has been cast as Spock in the new "Star Trek" movie. He had discussed the possibility during a Post-Gazette podcast in May but had to hedge his bets yesterday, when E! Online reported that he had been signed to the role.

"Everybody else seems to have more to say about it than I do," Quinto said from the set of NBC's "Heroes," the Emmy-nominated series for which he plays the villain Sylar.

"I would love for it to be true. We'll see what happens. We can only talk about 'Heroes' today. I'm under a strict directive from NBC. When I have something to say about 'Star Trek,' I will."

	Dean Hendler Zachary Quinto, who plays Sylar on the NBC series "Heroes," may be cast as Spock in the next "Star Trek" movie. Click photo for larger image.

Universal Television Studios president Katherine Pope told the Post-Gazette last week that if Quinto got the "Star Trek" job, the studio would find a way to work out schedules so he can do both. In fact, "we're in negotiations about that now," "Heroes" creator Tim Kring said yesterday.

"We're obviously very excited about Zach's prospects there. It's only good for us."

Quinto's casting makes sense in a "six degrees of separation" way. Quinto stars in "Heroes" with Greg Grunberg, who starred on "Alias," which was created by J.J. Abrams, who is producing and directing the new "Star Trek" film.