Brad Pitt to Produce Biopic About Mexicali Neurosurgeon Dr. Q

Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, M.D. or Dr. Q, as he is more affectionately known by his students and patients, is the William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professor and Chair of Neurologic Surgery, and the head of a research lab at the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville where he is spearheading NIH-funded research to cure brain cancer. However, all of these accolades did not come overnight, and they definitely did not come without his intense work ethic and endless drive. In fact, his story is so uniquely uplifting that Hollywood took notice as far back as 2007. It was then that Plan B (Brad Pitt’s production company) began discussions about a biopic after executives heard his fascinating story on a daytime radio program.

Born in a small village outside of Mexicali, Mexico, Dr. Q started working at only 5 years old to help with his family’s day to day expenses. When he finished school, he knew he was bound for greatness. Resources were scarce in his hometown, so he decided to make the often grueling trek to the United States. When he was 19, he jumped a border fence and entered the United States illegally. He spoke no English, had no documents, and almost no money in his pocket. But, like so many other migrant workers who came before him, Dr. Q did have two things that would lead him to his destiny: drive and a dream.

He began working toward that dream in the fields of California’s San Joaquin Valley, picking tomatoes and grapes, cantaloupe and cotton. He also worked as a painter and a welder, and made enough money to begin classes at a community college, where he studied English and joined the debate team to practice his language skills. After earning his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and training in both general surgery and neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco, Quiñones-Hinojosa came to Johns Hopkins in 2005 and became a faculty member and surgeon where he specialized in brain cancer and pituitary tumors. He now works full time at the Mayo Clinic as the head of neurosurgery. Along the way, Dr. Q also became a U.S. citizen – bringing everything full circle.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney expects Dr. Q to be a modestly-budgeted inspirational drama. Plan B executives Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner won Best Picture at the Oscars for their production work on 12 Years a Slave and were nominated the following year for their work on The Big Short. The production team has tapped Matthew Lopez to write the script. There is no official timeline on when the biopic will be released, but the project has been in development since 2016, so we probably won’t have to wait much longer!