Nick Gehlfuss – Chicago Med

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What can you tease is new this season on “Chicago Med” and with your character Will?

A) Will will be taking on a whole new position. That’s all I can tell you about that. He’ll also be much more introspective than we’ve seen him before as it pertains with where he is at with his life. He sort of has a moment where he is reevaluating everything – where he is at in his career, his personal life and all of it. In the last episode of the last season he was having trust issues with Dr. Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram) and ultimately, he came to the conclusion [helped by Maggie] that you believe in people and that’s a good thing. So, he makes this decision to trust Hannah. Having said that, they do have this troubling reality that they are dealing with at the very beginning of this season. It will be a question of will they – won’t they stay together. Also, we’re opening up in the midst of the pandemic. So, Chicago Med is under a whole new dynamic in protocol and it helps us understand the protocols in coming into work and how a doctor is admitted into the hospital from off site. It’s a whole sequence that’s pretty cool that we shot. As you can imagine, the doctors are dealing with a new dynamic and the virus in many different ways. We’ll navigate all of that. We’ll definitely be having COVID stories, but also balancing well with what fans have come to expect. The show is really separated into a COVID ward where all the patients are sent to and then the ED (Emergency Department) is COVID free. Everyone is tested before they come in, as are the doctors and the staff. So, that is a big difference and gives us the ability to work without masks a little bit because it’s pretty true that everyone on set is tested. Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) will also be speaking with the staff, talking about how they are dealing with this whole new world and just checking in. Will is the first meeting in the first episode to discuss what he’s going through. Of course, last season Will and Dr. Charles collided and bumped heads a little bit about certain procedures and this whole injection site that Will went off to do. Then, also his relationship with Dr. Hannah Asher. So, there is quite a bit up front between those two that will come into play through this first meeting.

Q) Last season Will had to choose between Dr. Manning and Dr. Asher. What was it about Hannah that made him finally pick her over someone he’s had such history with?

A) I think he felt if they were trying to force something that wasn’t working at the time and I think what also played into his relationship with Dr. Asher is he saved this woman’s life. She was overdosing and he di the very thing that he set up that he felt was so important. He is devoted to this after being reminded of him being a part of this opioid crisis, to a certain extent (not with any malicious intent of course). When he lost that patient of his he really championed this whole safe injection site. So, that is a strong bond when you have somebody who you have that type of experience with and I think he felt he wasn’t forcing anything there. There was a genuine connection and, if I can remember correctly, that episode Will (and the writers do a great job of this – when the doctors are dealing with their patients sometimes they learn things through their patients stories that help them in their personal life) learned something about his patient that made him realize that it’s best to move on. At that point, I don’t think he had been with Dr. Asher yet. I don’t think he had any of that experience yet. I think he just felt like there was too much drama I guess – for a lack of a better word. It really felt like they were forcing something. While he didn’t know, I think he felt betrayed by her by the fact he kept trying to help her realize something and she basically told him to get out of her life. I think that was the kicker. Now I’m remembering! Wow! It feels like forever ago. When she said, “Get out of my life. I don’t want you in my life anymore,” it felt like she meant it. While Will didn’t know that it may not have been coming from the most genuine place (regardless of what she was feeling or whatever), he took it for truth and he did it. Then, for this whole thing to get turned back around when he said that he was making some progress, I think he went with his gut and what he was feeling at that time. He was just happier not having to deal with whatever pain he was dealing with, given their situation.

Q) Were you looking forward to sharing more scenes this season with someone(s) in particular?

A) I will say that I was so happy to be back to work and I feel very lucky to be working again. It’s really impressive what they have put together, as far as making this whole thing possible – with the time, money, research and resources that went into this. And I do feel safe working on set. It was just nice to see anyone and everyone. So far, I’ve been working with a good mixture of everyone. Will and Maggie (Marlyne Barrett) are going to develop a little deeper relationship within these first few episodes. I love working with Oliver. Even though they bump heads quite a bit, I think Will respects Dr. Charles and could use a fatherly figure in his life. Ever since his father died, he is now parentless. So, that relationship is different, whether he knows it or not. I was looking forward to being back with my family, basically. Not anyone in particular. It was just really great to see everybody again.

Q) Have you gone to the advisers on set to ask how the pandemic would personally, not just professionally, effect Dr. Halstead?

A) Absolutely. Like I said, that meeting with Dr. Charles and Will being the first of the staff to sit down with him and chat with him a little bit, he goes into some of those specifics. I ended up calling a contact that we have here who ended up helping us start the entire show who is a trauma surgeon at Cook County. He’s actually somebody I’ve shadowed a bunch and will still do when it feels appropriate again. I called him and he’s actually been working throughout all of this. He led a COVID group of first responders and talking about how everyone is doing and going over protocol and guidelines and leading speeches about how to go about all of that. He told me the biggest thing would be the idea that you almost feel useless. That was at a point where they didn’t have all of their proper gear and all of the resources they needed. We touch on that a little bit, but you just feel so useless when you don’t have the resources you need to help somebody. Then, of course, it’s the hardest thing to tell someone that their loved one can’t be in the room with them. So, the doctors can’t do everything all the time for everybody. I think this just makes it a little more severe of taking away certain abilities they may have had or certain ways of comforting. Seeing that amount of death on a regular basis is just going to effect anybody. It was good to have that conversation with him because we’re in the midst of a pandemic. All of that is alive, whether or not we’re shining a light on it at any given moment. Every time I’ve shadowed, I’ve really just gone in to look at social behavior and physical behavior and tone. I don’t try to learn anything medically. I undoubtedly will, but that is not my aim. It’s always just behavior and also watching the details and their body language when they are talking to patients as opposed to a colleague; what is the difference in tone and how you hide that. How does a doctor going through this hide what they are going through and sort of mask it even if they are not doing the best job at it? And it’s all these juicy details that an actor has at his or her disposal to use and make a moment alive and authentic.

Q) What are some episodes fans should look out for this season?

A) We’ve only filmed two episodes and we started to film the third one this Monday. But our opener is fantastic and I have been told by many people who have seen the episode that it just turned out so well. I know people have been patiently waiting for our return and we are. We will have an episode to watch! They can count on it! I would definitely say don’t miss this first one. Hopefully, they can relate to what these characters are going through and also escape into the stories and use it for what everyone needs entertainment for right now. Just continue to watch it again and use it for what they need to use it for.

Q) With such intense storylines, how do you shake off a long day of filming?

A) Here is what I’ve actually already implemented in my life and will most definitely be using again…I think it will most definitely be a tool for the rest of my life as an actor. I had a profound moment, or an epiphany, in therapy. I was talking to him about what it is I do and how I feel sometimes and he very aptly said, “Oh, you know, actors need to understand that they are going to take a little bit of abuse.” We were especially talking about dramatic actors. What he meant by “abuse,” specifically in this context, was that you’re going to be going through these emotional scenes and your mind can make sense of why you’re doing it over and over because you need different angles and different shots and helping your partner. Even when the camera is not on you, you want to live this scene so that the person that is being filmed for their coverage has a real moment opposite of them to respond to as well. Yet, at the end of the day, your body is going through it as if it is real – depending on how deep you go as a performer or storyteller. If you’re doing your job well, you will. And there is residue at the end of the day. Meditation is what my therapist told me is the most powerful tool he can give me after all of his forty years of treating patients through psychotherapy. He said it’s something that would especially be good for me to do before I go into work to just clear my head to be open and available for everything that I need to do within the work day. Then, at the end of the day do it to get back to a neutral base and all of that. It is a powerful thing and it’s good for mental health, especially now because your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Any time I’m feeling overwhelmed or really stressed I can be anywhere at any time and do this. It’s mobile. That’s the power of it – you can do it wherever you want. Of course, I’ll also throw on a movie or I’ll throw on some comedy to help me escape. I’ll listen to some music. I love playing music. That’s another thing that really is therapeutic for me.

Q) What have you personally taken away from your time working on this series?

A) This is the first time that I, as an actor, have been able to lay roots. This show changed my life, I’ll say that. It’s the first time in my career that I’ve had a consistent job on this level. I have had some consistent work and it was just super important that I earn my stripes and it really happened in a very organic, progressive way. It kept building and building and I kept climbing and climbing. And it really was natural. This show got me out of work at a side job. When I got the call for this show I was building furniture and delivering it in Los Angeles, California. I’ll never forget that day. It wasn’t actually a call where “Chicago Med” was a sure thing. They were giving it a try to see if a medical show would work out. So, I knew I had a couple of episodes on “Chicago PD” and the embedded pilot on “Chicago Fire.” And so we took a little bit of a gamble, but if you’re going to gamble with anybody you gamble with Dick Wolf. So, this show has changed my life. I purchased a home on this show. To have something that is my own and build a community with people…Dick Wolf created a community for us with the three shows, but also I’ve been able to interact with the community of Chicago and do some really great things and have some wonderful opportunities (I’ll be honest) because of my participation on this show. I’m a part of Big Brothers/Big Sisters here in Chicago and I mentor a boy named Mekhi and I’ve also been a part of Soldier Ride with The Wounded Warrior Project for the past four years. It has been a big bicycle ride through Chicago where about forty-five or fifty wounded veterans who come in. It’s a three-day experience and they have been put into a lottery and they’ve been picked. So, I’ve been taking part in that. My wife was able to go to school here and get her degree in Public Health and Policy and now she has a fantastic job here. Chicago was never on my radar and it’s been a wonderful place to be. And I’ve also been so close to home where I can drive, as opposed to having to take a flight. That access to my family is a major benefit. An actor doesn’t normally lay roots for quite a while. It isn’t forever. Jobs come and go, but it’s been fantastic up to this point. I really appreciated being able to portray a first responder. The last time I worked in Chicago I was a “drug addict” and a very malicious brother on “Shameless.” [laughs] My mom is in the medical field and so is my sister. So, now I’m accepted into the family. What can I say? I’m a real fake doctor they can turn to.