Why Dr. Dean Archer From Chicago Med Looks So Familiar
Dr. Dean Archer has cut quite a swath through Gaffney Chicago Medical Center since joining the team of troubled, but caring medical professionals who staff NBC's popular medical drama "Chicago Med." The frequently antagonistic interim head of the hospital's emergency department has drawn the ire of his colleagues and frequently butts heads with his former Navy brother-in-arms Ethan Choi (Brian Tee) due to his bluntness.
Choi was shot by one of Archer's patients during the Season 6 finale, and his friend's life-threatening injury made Archer a somewhat more contrite presence on the show during Season 7. Archer even encouraged Choi to fix a patient's hernia manually when he returned to the ER for the first time since his shooting — which ultimately resulted in Choi discovering that he needed spinal surgery to fuse multiple herniated lumbar disks in his back. While that definitely made Choi's recovery process more difficult, it showed that Archer was trying to change his ways and become a more supportive colleague.
Additionally, after fighting with Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt), who blamed Archer for Choi's shooting, Archer and Charles have begun to build a friendship. While Archer continues to struggle with his bedside manner while caring for his patients, it's clear that he's trying to become a better doctor.
The actor who plays Dean Archer has a very long resume with some very well-remembered parts. If you were a sitcom fan during the '90s or a drama fan during the '00s, the actor in question may be very familiar to many of you.
Steven Weber got his start as a soap opera actor
Steven Weber is an incredibly prolific actor who got his start in the early '80s. His first film role was in the 1984 Matt Dillon vehicle "The Flamingo Kid," where he played Paul Hirsch. The actor first attracted national attention during a story arc on the CBS soap opera "As The World Turns," which ran from 1985 to 1986 (per Soap Opera Digest). During his brief stint on the show, Weber portrayed Kevin Gibson, who was paired with Julianne Moore's Frannie Hughes. Frannie and Kevin are college sweethearts, and she quit Yale in the wake of their breakup. It later came out that they split because of Kevin's affair with waitress Marie Kovac (Mady Kaplan).
While Kevin and Frannie give their romance another try, Marie intervenes once again, claiming that Kevin had paid for her abortion to get rid of her (she'd actually miscarried). Things among the threesome escalate until Marie turns up dead. In the ensuing investigation, it is revealed that Doug Cummings (John Wesley Shipp), Frannie and Kevin's boss, has killed Marie and is, in fact, a serial killer who used Frannie to get closer to her mother, Kim Hughes (Kathryn Hays). Kevin eventually dies in Frannie's arms after being shot by Marsha Talbot (Giulia Pagano), Doug's assistant.
Weber then landed the role of Sfc. Dennis Worcester in John Irvin's 1987 ensemble Vietnam War drama "Hamburger Hill." He appeared in the TV movies such as "Kojak: Fatal Flaw" and "When We Were Young" on his way to being cast in a popular sitcom.
He spent years co-piloting Wings
That's Steven Weber as Brian Hackett, roguish pilot and co-owner of single-plane airport Sandpiper Air, in the long-running NBC sitcom "Wings." The show lasted for eight seasons, ran from 1990 to 1997 and still remains a popular program in syndication.
The sitcom's main conflict generates laughs from the personality (and personal) conflicts between Brian and his brother, orderly fellow pilot Joe Hackett (Tim Daly). While Joe is highly responsible, Brian dropped out of Princeton and was rejected from a NASA program due to his irresponsibility and has spent his pre-series life jumping from job to job. Before the events of "Wings," Brian also ran off with Joel's fiancée Carol (Kim Johnston Ulrich) and ended up marrying her. While Carol and Brian have broke up, the brothers remained estranged for six years, and Brian only returns home to Nantucket because he presumes that their father has left him a hefty inheritance. The brothers' "inheritance" turns out to be a picture of the two of them together, a strong hint that maybe they should work their differences out before it's too late.
The Hacketts have their ups and downs, but try to stick together to make Sandpiper Air successful. With the help of their friends and rivals — childhood pal, lunch counter head, wannabe cellist and Joe's romantic interest Helen Chapel (Crystal Bernard), dotty ticket counter/baggage check/flight announcement person Fay Cochran (Rebecca Schull), rival airline owner Roy Biggins (David Schramm), and sweet but dim mechanic Lowell Mather (Thomas Haden Church) – they might just make it.
While "Wings" was never a huge ratings blockbuster (per The Associated Press, it reached the Nielsen top 20 for the 1991-92 primetime television season, hitting 19th place), multiple crossovers with "Cheers" helped buoy its popularity.
Roles on the big and small screen followed
Between seasons of "Wings," Weber guest-starred on multiple TV shows and took roles in various TV movies. He was Dale Sweeney in the "Mournin' Mess" segment of HBO's anthology horror series "Tales from the Crypt" in 1990. That same year, he played John F. Kennedy in ABC's Emmy-winning (per IMDb) miniseries "The Kennedys of Massachusetts."
He made it back to the big screen in 1992, portraying Sam Rawson in the thriller "Single White Female." Rawson, on the outs with his ex-fiancé Allison Jones (Bridget Fonda), meets an ignominious end at the hands of the obsessed Hedra "Hedy" Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Allison's new roommate. Sam has his eye gouged out by a stiletto heel after rejecting Hedy's sexual advances and realizing that Hedy's ultimate plan is to take over Allison's life by assuming her identity.
He had a supporting role in the 1993 thriller "The Temp" and starred in "Jeffrey," a critically acclaimed (68% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes) independent romantic comedy in 1995. He appeared in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" as Colonel Day in the Season 2 episode "The Siege." He also had a supporting role as Marc Nussbaum in the 1995 Oscar-winning drama "Leaving Las Vegas."
Weber appeared as Jonathan Harker in the critically reviled (11% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) Mel Brooks-directed spoof "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" in 1995.
His appearance in The Shining drew mixed results
While continuing to take on guest appearances on various television shows, Weber portrayed Jack Torrance in the 1997 ABC miniseries version of Stephen King's "The Shining." This version of the famous horror tale is more faithful to King's bestselling novel, and King threw his support behind the project — even ending up writing the program's script, producing it, and appearing in it as Gage Creed (per IMDb). However, the show was unfavorably compared to the 1980 big-screen version of the material by critics.
On the other hand, audiences seem to appreciate the film's effects and performances. The miniseries holds a 36% critical approval score on Rotten Tomatoes, versus a 61% audience approval score and a 6.1 on IMDb. In recent years, however, it's begun to draw the interest of critics once more, with Weber's performance in particular receiving reevaluation and praise. The miniseries also ended up winning two Emmys.
In the wake of "The Shining," Weber continued to alternate between small and big screen roles. He showed up in 2000's "Time Code" and was given his own sitcom on NBC during the 2000-2001 season, which was titled "The Weber Show." It lasted for 17 episodes. The actor then took on a 10-episode recurring role on ABC's "One and Again" in 2000. He played Sam Blue on the program on and off until 2002.
Weber put in a performance in the wild independent film "Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical," in which he played Jack Stone. The musical spoof of the notorious 1936 scare film premiered on Showtime.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip brought him back to TV
Steven Weber returned to the small screen as a cast member of the NBC dramedy "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." He played Jack Rudolph, the boss of Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet) and head of the show's fictionalized version of NBC on the series. Jack experienced significant personal tumult and was going through a separation by the time the show concluded. "Studio 60" met with positive critical reviews (it's certified fresh at 72% at Rotten Tomatoes) but low ratings led to the show's cancellation in 2007 (per The Guardian).
The actor then had a three-episode arc on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," portraying Matthew Braden in 2007. He would also appear on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" as a completely different character, Ben Langston, in 2011. He was Clark Medina in four episodes of "Without a Trace" in 2008, and popped up as Graham Finch for 10 episodes of "Brothers and Sisters." He guested thrice on the FX series "Wilfred" in 2012, and recurred as Gov. Sam McConaughey on TNT's continuation of the primetime soap "Dallas." The actor also showed up as Bill Wilkerson in 10 episodes of TNT's "Murder in the First" and was Brother Michael in the SYFY series "Helix."
He chilled in The Perfection
Before Weber showed up on "Chicago Med," he played another doctor — Dr. George Carver — on the ABC Family dramedy "Chasing Life." He followed that up with an 11-episode stint on The CW's horror/comedy series "iZombie" and had a six-episode arc on Showtime's "House of Lies." Weber notably recurred on "NCIS: New Orleans" as Douglas Hamilton 18 times from 2014 to 2017. Hamilton was often a thorn in the side of series lead Special Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride (Scott Bakula). He also played Principal Gary Bolan for 26 episodes of the Netflix drama "13 Reasons Why."
Weber put in a stunning performance as Anton in 2018's "The Perfection," a mind-bending horror film in which he portrays the head of a mysterious New England-based music academy. All is not as it seems within the walls of Bachoff Academy, and Anton's secrets are soon exposed by his prospective student, Charlotte Willmore (Allison Williams), and her lover/Anton's former protégé Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wells (Logan Browning).
All in all, that's a lot of work for one talented actor.