Scott Wolf has played several TV doctors – but does that mean his loved ones are now asking him for medical advice?
“I’ve played a doctor four times. I have to get a degree from somewhere,” joked Wolff, 56, during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly for his new Fox series Doc. “Fortunately for (my family), they don’t (ask me for medical advice).”
Before scoring the role of Dr. Richard Miller in the upcoming Fox medical drama, Wolf played medical professionals Everwood, The Nine and The night shift.
“I do diagnose family members, much to their annoyance,” he quipped. “One of the great things about being an actor is that you get to – kind of osmosis – absorb these worlds. None of this makes any of us real doctors. This is the fourth time I’ve played a doctor and some things stick.
Wolf noted the importance of honoring real doctors, adding, “It’s very important to me, and it’s important to everyone in this production, to honor the work that these life-saving heroes do in real life.”
Docwhich premieres on Tuesday, January 7, is based on an Italian TV series In your hands about a doctor who loses her memory in a car accident and wakes up to find her whole life changed. Molly Parker leads the cast along with Wolf, Omar Metwali, Amira Wan, John Ecker, Anya Banerjee and Patrick Walker.
“(My Doctor Hero of Doc) is my No. 1 favorite in terms of my enjoyment of complexity,” Wolff said us.”I get to explore these different medical worlds by playing doctors. But I have never played a more fun, interesting, complex and sometimes painful character. And to work with Fox again after I started Party of five (in the 90s), they are two of my favorite experiences so far. It’s full circle in some fun ways.”
Despite playing a “flawed human being”. DocWolf enjoys the challenge.
“Any actor will tell you that you must always find justification, understanding and empathy for the characters you play. But in this case, it wasn’t like figuring out how to justify a bad guy who does bad things,” the actor explained. “He was a very good man, as any of us could become. But with his circumstances, he finds himself in this terrible situation where a mistake has happened and his reaction to it is just to protect himself.”
Wolf teased him us that Richard’s arch — and Doc as a series – will “constantly surprise” viewerssaying, “It’s so well written and I’m a big fan of hospital shows, but obviously that central premise is so interesting and the character development is incredible. The whole point is to create characters and tell stories that engage people.”
He continued: “Sometimes it can take time and the very first episode of a show can leave you feeling like you’ve only scratched the surface. … I didn’t know what direction they were going to go in all of them, but it’s amazing to read something and feel like I’m going to play any character on this show.”
Doc airs on Fox on Tuesdays at 9pm ET and new episodes air the following day on Hulu.
With reporting by Cristina Garibaldi
