What's Zachary Levi Been Up To? 'Vigilantery' on 'Heroes Reborn' and Possible 'Chuck' Movies

Are you ready to go deep with nerd icon Zachary Levi? Creator of TheNerdMachine.com and star of Chuck, Levi now plays the lethal Luke Collins on NBC’s Heroes Reborn. We sat him down in the Yahoo SuperFan studio and grilled him on projects past and present.

You’d think Levi would be a natural fit to play one of the superpowered protagonists (or “evos”) on the revived Heroes, but it turns out he wanted to use the show to get away from his good-guy image. “I want to play a character that’s really different from what I typically have done,” he told the show’s creator, Tim Kring, who cast him as a bereft father whose “vigilantery” involves taking out evos rather than being one of them.

While we’re on the subject of TV series back from the dead, Levi also gives us his take on a revived Chuck. Despite going a respectable five seasons, there are still fans hoping for the show to come back. Levi says that — while a full, 13-episode season is probably off the table — he still thinks the show could go on as a continuing series of movies.

And he also weighs in on the handsomest nerds. Maybe too humble to namecheck himself, he lists Firefly alums Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk, fellow nerd king Chris Hardwick, as well as the “about 170”-year-old Stan Lee and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady? Maybe Levi should stick with what he’s good at — superhero killing and being a spy — and leave the sexy nerd talk for someone more qualified.

Heroes Reborn airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.