John Leguizamo hardly seems the type to be scrubbing in as one of the doctors on “ER,” NBC’s long-running medical drama.
The native of Colombia is best known for his edgy one-man shows, his work in independent films and quirky parts in larger movies. Over the years, he has limited his TV appearances to late-night talk shows and the occasional HBO movie.
It’s hardly a career path designed to take a performer to a heavily formatted TV drama dominated by technical medical dialogue. But Leguizamo has decided to make the leap; he joins the cast of NBC’s “ER” at 9 p.m. Thursday for at least 12 episodes as Dr. Victor Clemente, the new head of County General’s emergency room.
“I’m really enjoying TV a lot more than movies–except for independent films, which I still love,” he said. “What I’m seeing on TV is so much better than what I’m seeing in the movies: ‘Six Feet Under,’ I love. ‘Rescue Me.’ “
He adds that though he isn’t “a fanatic,” he has watched “ER” and was particularly taken with two episodes from last season: “Time of Death,” which earned guest star Ray Liotta an Emmy for his performance as a dying man, and “Ruby Redux,” featuring Red Buttons reprising a role he played during the early years of the series.
“Those were great episodes,” he said. “They just rocked my world.”
Still, Leguizamo realizes he is coming to a franchise with very specific ways of doing things–ways that may not fit his looser, more improvisational style.
“I’ve got a whole mess of doctors on the set who walk me through each procedure and tell me what I’m talking about,” Leguizamo said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t understand what I’m saying because I haven’t had 12 years of medicine.”
But Leguizamo believes he can still bring a measure of his own style to the series. “Within that format,” he said, “I have to find my jazz, the way I can creep into the character.”
Leguizamo said working on the show has proven to be “pretty cool.”
“You get to ‘ER,’ and the set is so realistic, it’s ridiculous,” he said. “Every gadget works, the insulin is real, the saline is real, everything is real. You put on those scrubs, and everybody’s listening to you. It’s really kind of ego-boosting. You feel like you are special, that you can actually heal.”
And his mother is thrilled with his new role.
“My mother is the most excited of anyone I know,” he said. “She’s going around telling everyone, ‘My son’s a doctor! My son’s a doctor!’ “
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Edited by Curt Wagner (cwwagner@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
