‘Code Black’ Insider: Rob Lowe Talks Going Rogue

Code Black is the latest medical drama to make an impact on prime time television, but, unlike other similar shows, this series can lay claim to the fact that it has the incredibly talented Rob Lowe on its roster. Lowe comes to Code Black as Dr. Ethan Willis and he reveals that this new series has given him a deeper insight into what it is to be a healthcare provider in a more violent world, where tragedy and death are all too common. Lowe talks about having to learn about medical advances for Code Black, as well as having to dive deep into a compelling character.

Code Black Brings The War Home

Code Black brings Rob Lowe in as a doctor and as a colonel in the military, transferred to Angels Memorial Hospital directly from having served in the war in the Middle East, according to TV Guide. Lowe’s Dr. Willis is sent to the L.A. hospital to help improve trauma training for the staff of the hospital, which is a mirror for real life in that our medical advances are coming in straight from the battlefield.

“We’ve been at war for 16 years, so you can imagine what we’re learning on a day-to-day basis,” Rob says. “These military doctors from elite units are often repositioned in the big county emergency hospitals to help facilitate the new technology and the new way of thinking.”

Lowe plays something of a rogue, preferring to do things his own way, as opposed to strictly following the rules and accepted practices. This is a welcome change for Dr. Rorish (Marcia Gay Harden), who has welcomed a return to the E.R. floor, following a stint as an administrator. Harden says that her character is very similar to Lowe’s Ethan Willis, particularly in the way they each have a tendency for taking actions that are “a bit rogue and a bit reckless,” even though they do have great empathy for their patients.

Marcia adds that the two Code Black characters are mysterious at the moment, suggesting they each harbor secrets from their respective pasts. How those secrets will play out through the course of Code Black‘s Season 2 will remain to be seen.

For Rob Lowe, Jumping Out Of A Helicopter Was A Deal Maker

When Rob Lowe was contacted to do Code Black, CBS News reports that the actor had one condition and it was a deal breaker, or, from his point of view, a deal maker. Lowe wanted to jump out of a helicopter.

“They came to me and said, ‘will you do Code Black?'” Lowe recalled on CBS This Morning. “I said, ‘only if I get to jump out of a helicopter into the Pacific Ocean.’ And they said, ‘fine!'”

The title of the show is derived from a real medical term, reveals Rob. He says “Code Black” refers to a crisis situation in which the hospital is beyond capacity, yet still must function and provide quality care. While most hospitals find themselves facing a Code Black two or three times a year, Lowe says that number jumps to over 300 times a year in L.A. County.

An interview with Rob Lowe isn’t complete without asking the actor how he feels about his youth, having been lumped together with so many of his contemporary actors in the Brat Pack. Lowe admits he wasn’t fond of the term back in the ’80s, but, over time, Mr. Lowe has come to accept and even embrace the catchphrase.

“When I was in my 20s, I didn’t like being lumped in with a catch-all phrase, right? ‘We are all individuals!’ But now looking back on it, I’m just glad that people are still talking about something that a bunch of us accomplished so many years ago. It’s great,” says the Code Black actor.

Code Black, starring Rob Lowe, Marcia Gay Harden, Benjamin Hollingsworth, and Harry Ford, premieres Season 2 tonight on CBS.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]