Picture of healthcare
THE RESIDENT STAR MANISH DAYAL WILL SEE YOU NOW…
Medical drama The Resident rips the bandage off the dark side of private-hospital life. With the first three seasons about to drop on Star on Disney+, Screen talks to actor Manish Dayal (90210), who plays second-year resident internist Devon Pravesh, about authenticity, diversity and the politics of medicine...
Is your family proud of you playing a doctor? It’s every South Asian parent’s dream!
There you go, checked the box! Luckily my sister is a doctor, so she fulfils their dream. [laughs]
You do make a convincing doctor…
That’s a big compliment. We work really hard on the show to try to bring authenticity to the roles. My character is an empathetic guy, and audiences appreciate that. It helps you relate to him, and understand the things he’s experiencing. I’m just privileged to play a doctor and hopefully shed light on the lives of frontline workers who deserve all our attention and praise right now.
You had a very emotional role on
– did that prepare you for playing Dr. Pravesh?
90210
Maybe in some subconscious way. That was such a unique role - a regular guy, a skater, living in Venice, LA. As simple as it might seem, it had a big
impact on the way viewers perceive South Asians and beyond.
Like Parminder Nagra in ER, you play a doctor who doesn’t conform to stereotype. How important is that to you?
It’s a great honour and something I take very seriously. A lot of actors try to be as collaborative as we can, to be sure we’re doing a service to the community we’re representing. The writers of The Resident are interested in telling these stories and in an open, honest and right way.
Your co-stars include Morris Chestnut, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Rob Yang, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Emily VanCamp… it’s a diverse cast.
Exactly, because a modern hospital often has Nigerians, Indians, Korean Americans and so on among the staff, and it’s important to reflect that on the show.
Let’s talk love interests...
I won’t give you spoilers. [laughs] Talking about each character’s love interests fills in a piece of the puzzle. Who we choose to be with, who we choose to love creates the identity we’re portraying.
The Resident
is ostensibly a drama, but feels like a nail-biting thriller…
It should do. We haven’t yet pulled the curtain back, and really revealed what the politics of medicine are. What we learn from the show is that everything is about revenue and the bottom line, which ultimately affects patient care.
How far does the show explore that?