ER star Sharif Atkins is experiencing a little bit of deja vu. Once again, the actor — who portrayed Dr. Michael Gallant for five years — is on a medical drama. Once again, that medical drama airs on NBC. But when Atkins guest stars on Chicago Med in the Oct. 2 episode, he won’t be wearing a white coat. And he’s liable to break viewers’ hearts.
In Season 10, Episode 2, entitled “Bite Your Tongue,” Atkins portrays Joe Thomas, who’s devastated to learn that his son’s cancer has returned. As if that wasn’t emotional enough, Joe and his wife are startled when the recently arrived Dr. John Frost wants to tell their child the whole truth about what he’s facing. CBR spoke to Atkins about guesting on Chicago Med, and telling a medical story from the other side of the clipboard.
CBR: You spent most of five seasons on ER playing a doctor. What was it like to step back into the ED on Chicago Med, but this time to be portraying the patient’s family instead of the one trying to save them?
Sharif Atkins: It was very familiar. My time on ER acting — just as a first experience, especially on that kind of platform, on that kind of show, it was great. And so to be revisiting that space here with Chicago Med, albeit as a guest star on the other side of the clipboard, it was [a] really good experience. Great actors that I had a chance to work with. And seeing all the lab coats and the scrubs, it definitely took me back.
At the same time, your last episode of ER aired in 2006. Medical dramas have changed since then, so was guesting on Chicago Med like getting back on a bicycle again, or were there things that were different or that you had to learn?
It’s always interesting when you’re on, depending on which side you’re on — but the showrunner [Allen MacDonald] and the writer on the show, the environment was great. It really took me back. The activity and the reality of what would be going on in a space like that was right there. So it was very reminiscent of the ER days, except for the fact that I’m not holding the clipboard. I’m going through it with my family.
[The plot] was very profound. I play Joe Thomas, a husband and a father. My wife is played by Crystal Lee Brown, and my son is played by Kevin Chacon — both actors who were just stellar and who I absolutely loved working with. The crux of the story is that we come in with what we believe to be a minor medical situation with our son, who’s an athlete — maybe like a rib contusion or something simple — and we find that his cancer has resurfaced. We thought we had beat it before, and so that’s kind of where the roller coaster begins. It’s essentially a storyline about two parents’ love for their son, wanting to protect their son from this devastating diagnosis and keep him as hopeful and optimistic about life as possible.
Most of your scenes are with new series regular Darren Barnet, who portrays Dr. John Frost. How would you describe working with him and the rest of the Chicago Med cast?
[Barnet] was great. He was smooth. He was very smooth. It’s a term that I’ve only really used for one other person — Parminder Nagra from ER. I just remember watching her acting and I was just [like], wow, she’s just silky with it. I have the same sense that, I think he’s going to fit right into [Chicago Med]. It was great working with him, had a chance to work with John Earl Jelks, who plays Dr. Dennis Washington on the show.
Dealing with this kind of material, you want to do your best to hit all the notes as honestly as possible. And though Dr. Frost and my character, Joe Thomas, were on opposite sides of the coin in terms of what we thought we should do, they were both sincere. Very sincere in their beliefs. The way the writers wrote it — which I think was very, very astute and very, very cool — is that you’ll want to choose one side or the other. I think that’ll be part of the fun, being sort of sucked into the storyline, even as impactful and profound and devastating as it is. Emotionally you’ll be on one side or the other, either Team Frost or you’re Team Thomas.
And the actors played the heck out of their roles. Me and Crystal Lee Brown, we were just in awe of how Kevin dealt with the interaction between [Joe] and Frost and hearing the news. [He’s] just a really great young actor, really great young actor. We had a good time, and I think the audience will have a good time as well.
