‘Chicago Med’ interview: Rachel DiPillo, Oliver Platt talk Sarah Reese’s evolution, Danny’s return
Thursday night’s new episode of “Chicago Med” is going to be a big one for several characters, but this is especially true for Rachel DiPillo’s Dr. Sarah Reese. She is still in process of trying to figure out the ins and outs of her job, especially after making a move to psychology. Earlier this season, she tried her best to forget her connection with Danny, a troubled young man who was at the center of a terrible sex trafficking case. Unfortunately, he did not end up staying at the hospital, even though he’s clearly in need of help.
As the promo below gives away, Reese is going to take to the streets in order to try and help turn this man’s life around, and with that she uncovers some things that could put her own future could be at risk and Lindsay comes over from “Chicago PD” to help. This is a storyline we discussed further with both DiPillo and her co-star Oliver Platt, who of course plays her colleague and mentor Dr. Daniel Charles, when CarterMatt was at the One Chicago Day press junket earlier this week. Platt in particular was able to offer some further perspective on what Reese may be going through, and the growing pains that come with dealing with such difficult moral quandaries.
On the evolution with the relationship between Resse and Charles
DiPillo– “It feels to me a little bit more of a higher-density version of what was going on last season. Sarah and Charles were no strangers to working together last season, but there’s more of a knowing [between them].”
Platt – “To me there is a little bit more of a pronounced shift, and for a very good reason. Through the mentoring, the writers made sure that we were going to learn more things about Dr. Charles and his personal life, his professional and personal history, that we didn’t know before. This was a clever way to do that. When you’re trying to go teach and protect somebody, [forging a connection is] a tricky thing [to accomplish].”
On what is motivating Sarah to try and help Danny
DiPillo – “I think that Sarah has a tendency to want to do the right thing to her own detriment and not really care, so I think you’ll see a little more on that. You’re going to see her struggle with boundaries, which is going to be a really big thing if you’re getting involved in someone’s life, whether it be physically or mentally.”
Platt – “It’s really challenging being so young and being thrown into the deep end. This is her job to get people to open up, and you need to do that honestly. We’re human beings too, but where do you draw that line? Doctors, they set a bone and cure a disease or stop the bleeding. Our parameters are so much more mysterious. They’re about human interactions … Your job is to become professionally intimate with someone and get them talking, and that’s a tough process. What, are we supposed to not care? Of course you want to care, but what happens when you don’t have any control over the outcome? That’s really hard, and you can only figure it out by doing it.”
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If you want to see another notable interview from One Chicago Day, head over here to see our chat with Marina Squerciati from “Chicago PD”! We’ll have more soon. (Photo: Elizabeth Morris/NBC.)