Chicago Med's Steven Weber Thanks The Editors When It Comes To That Tough Medical Terminology
Steven Weber's casting in the role of Dr. Dean Archer in the One Chicago series "Chicago Med" adds to an already diverse resume for the actor. Through a forty-year career, Weber has played everyone from a Lothario airline pilot in the sitcom "Wings" to his Saturn Award-winning turn in the ABC miniseries version of "The Shining" (via IMDb). Playing an ER doctor and trauma surgeon is just one more stretch.
But that doesn't mean it's an easy stretch. Yes, Weber has been acting since he was young, having appeared in TV commercials as early as the third grade (via BroadwayWorld.com), but that is nothing like the extensive medical training that doctors have to undergo.
In an interview with FanSided, Weber was asked how he dealt with the large amount of terminology that doctors are expected to throw around and understand in a believable medical setting. He said that, in some ways, that level of language is the biggest challenge.
"Because what actual doctors are fluent in, which is that kind of medical terminology," he continued, "that's after years of study and application — as opposed to actors who get a script a few days in advance and have to master these terms and make it sound natural."
Studios go to great lengths to make medical dramas believable
It probably is no surprise that actors and production alike can find medical settings challenging. That said, medical scenes and series are common enough nowadays that studios know how to narrow the knowledge gap.
A 2008 article in The Hollywood Reporter covered the measures taken to make medical and hospital settings believable: "On the set, medical advisers are always present, and on some shows, real nurses work as extras. Actors also get training after they're hired." The article mentions, as an example, that after being cast in "ER," Yvette Freeman shadowed nurses working at a Los Angeles hospital.
Then again, that doesn't mean the actors won't stumble. For his part, Steven Weber is frank about how often he flubs a line loaded with doctor-speak. "And at the end of the day, thank God for great editing. All those stumbles are removed, and you look like you know what you're talking about."