Why Torrey DeVitto Felt Embarrassed Filming Chicago Med's Emotional Scenes
Although it is the third series to come out of the "One Chicago" television universe, "Chicago Med" quickly became popular among fans after its first season in 2015 despite moderate critical disapproval (via Rotten Tomatoes). The show is now on its eighth season, premiering on NBC Wednesday, September 21st. For eight years now, we've watched the medical staff at the Gaffney Chicago Medical center do everything they can to save the lives of those that need help, along with sometimes crossing paths with other characters from "Chicago Fire," the first show in the shared universe, and of course, "Chicago P.D." The medical staff has changed over the years, losing original trauma surgeons like Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell) after family complications. A relatively recent loss also came from another original doctor from the first season — Torrey DeVitto's Natalie Manning.
DeVitto's Natalie was a core member of the staff for six seasons, although things started to get complicated when her mother got sick near the end of Season 6. In order to help her, Natalie begins stealing prescription drugs from Gaffney, and fellow doctor Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) decides to take the fall after she is discovered, losing his job. Natalie ultimately can't live with that, however, and comes clean, leaving Gaffney for her family in Seattle. It is one of many emotional scenes for her character in the series.
However, DeVitto has revealed that during her time on "Chicago Med," she actually felt embarrassed filming emotional scenes sometimes for a specific reason.
Torrey DeVitto felt like audiences could see her personal issues through Natalie's emotions
According to a recent interview Torrey DeVitto had with BUILD Series, the emotional scenes she would have playing Natalie Manning on "Chicago Med" almost felt embarrassing sometimes because of how she decided to channel those feelings as an actress. DeVitto explained that she would draw a bit of emotion from her own personal life to portray the authentic feeling through Natalie while filming, which sometimes made her feel like she was revealing her personal life. "So for me like, when I have to do emotional scenes, for me personally as an actor, I always have to bring a little bit of my personal life mentally into it just to kind of get me there. And I know a lot of actors don't do that, but that's just my process," she explained.
DeVitto continued that this process can definitely lead her to feel embarrassed, as though the audience or the crew can see her personal struggles. "And so I always leave emotional scenes almost feeling a little embarrassed sometimes, like, 'oh my God, did I just expose myself?' she explained. She'd also continue that her process then can cause further problems, as mixing her feelings into Natalie's character can confuse who's feeling the emotions, herself or the character.
Although it seemed DeVitto left rather abruptly before the Season 6 finale of "Chicago Med," it doesn't seem as though there are hard feelings, according to her Instagram post in 2021.