Chicago Med's Marlyne Barrett Thought This One Scene Was The 'Turning Point' For Her Character
On "Chicago Med," Marlyne Barrett plays Maggie Lockwood, the head charge nurse in the emergency department of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. There, she runs a tight ship, highly dedicated to her job and loyal to those she works with.
Over the course of seven seasons, Maggie has battled cancer, gotten married to a patient who also survived the disease, and tracked down her biological daughter whom she gave up for adoption. She is often portrayed as a no-nonsense personality who doesn't hesitate to stick her nose into somebody else's business while also being a reliable shoulder for leaning purposes. An argument can be made that Maggie is a kind of connective tissue between a lot of storylines, always seeming to be around at the right time to goose along a narrative.
During a recent roundtable interview that included Looper, Barrett opened up about her all-time favorite storyline that involved Maggie on "Chicago Med," which airs Wednesdays on NBC.
Dr. Charles helped Maggie overcome a family burden
When it comes to a scene that really stands out in Barrett's mind, the "Chicago Med" actor name-checks co-star Oliver Platt, who plays psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Charles.
"We had a scene where Maggie was going to break a promise," says Barrett of Season 6. "Prior to that, the scene that she had with Oliver was [her telling him] that she would never, ever get past the Lockwood woman lifestyle — which is, you're strong, you're composed, you don't let anybody in, and you are almost unemotional. You keep everything inside."
She continues, "We had this great scene where Oliver nodded the entire time, like, 'Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Okay.' A little turn of events happened that same day, and I ended up going back to what I call 'the couch' and talked to Dr. Charles again and let out all the things, all the flow of emotions. I thought that was a turning point in Maggie's character — letting go of family perspectives to really live a new life in the ED, so that was special."
Season 7 of "Chicago Med" airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC.