TV’s new heartthrob doctor leads The Night Shift

MANILA, Philippines - Medical dramas have a long and solid history with television audiences. Much has been said and written about their universal appeal springing from yes, the drama, action and suspense surrounding situations wherein lives are on the line.

Adding gloss and excitement to medical dramas is the presence of the resident heartthrob TV doctor. From E.R.’s George Clooney to Grey Anatomy’s Patrick Dempsey (a.k.a. McDreamy), it’s a list that keeps on growing (and continues to send blood pressures rising).

Now, there’s a new must-watch doctor in town and his name is Dr. TC Callahan, played by Irish actor Eoin Macken, from the brand-new US medical drama The Night Shift, which premieres on Philippine TV via beTV come June 1 at 9:50 p.m.

Eoin (pronounced as Owin) got his career start as a model who became the face of some top clothing brand campaigns, but has since evolved to become not only as an actor but also as a writer and director.

Prior to The Night Shift, Eoin, who recently moved to the States after being based in London for the last couple of years, was notable as Sir Gwaine on the BBC One series Merlin, and was part of the movies Centurion, Through the Night, Siren, etc. He also appeared on Showtime’s The Tudors and other Irish series.

The Night Shift can be described as his biggest break to date, with him being in the lead as an army doctor-cum-tortured soul who has just returned from his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Rugged and rougish, Eoin’s character employs unorthodox methods of saving lives while feeding on the adrenalin and frenzy of night-shift emergency situations, consequently causing run-ins with the bosses and fellow doctors at the fictional San Antonio memorial hospital.

“I think with TC, what’s fascinating about him is that because he’s had quite a difficult past and he’s quite broken as a person, he’s had a very tough time, mentally and physically. Yet, he manages to channel that into just trying to look after people and save people, and for him it’s actually cathartic,” Eoin told The STAR in a recent phone chat.

“He’s not a very selfish character and even though he can be quite confrontational, and he’s difficult to deal with, there’s a fun side to him. There’s a lot of layers to him and that makes him fascinating,” he added.

To prepare for his role, he got a lot of help from an aunt who is a doctor and his mom, a nurse and a teacher. But his character was anything remotely like the projects he had done. “It was different because this character was incredibly complicated, as in every day for four months, there was a really strong arc from an emotional point of view, and as the (shooting) went on, I think that it was quite heavy and a challenge to portray this character because I’m not American, I’ve never been to war and I have to be very respectful of the fact that he was a medic in Afghanistan. I did all the research to be as truthful as I could and try to portray the character as respectfully as I could.”

He stressed though that he made room for fun while doing the show, with co-stars adding to the levity on the set. “Acting is a lot of hardwork but it’s also fun and you try to enjoy yourself. I had to be appreciative of what I was doing and why I was doing that. Often, it wasn’t difficult because of the people you work with. We have a great time. It’s like being in a summer camp.”

Another thing he enjoyed was the twice-a-week nighttime shooting schedule. Aside from being a certified night owl, he loved that the nighttime schedule afforded him with less distractions.

The show itself, based on the teaser trailer, may present emotionally-charged life-and-death scenes, but it’s not without its light moments courtesy of TC’s irreverent team of late-night doctors. Another story arc to look forward to is about his relationship with his boss, Dr. Jordan Alexander (played by Jill Flint of the Good Wife fame).

Eoin said, “I think, usually in a lot of cases, the man or the male is in charge of the female, that’s kind of what’s the standard. But what’s interesting is that Jordan is TC’s boss, so that dynamic is unusual. They’re always at odds with each other because TC is not the kind of person who wants to listen to people. And she’s also his ex-girlfriend and you know, they both care for each other and really have a strong history of working together. I think there’s a subconscious desire to keep working together. She transferred to the night shift because she wants to look after him at the same time, the guy drives her crazy. Jordan is probably good for TC, but TC is not good for Jordan.”

Eoin won’t deny that he experienced the agony of waiting for the series to hit the screens after he got cast back in 2012. “Yeah, there has been actually,” he admitted, adding that they had to wait for roughly six months to get the greenlight for the shooting of the pilot and several more months for its airing date. “And you’re kind of attach to it and can’t do anything else. Yeah, it had been frustrating. It’s been a while. It has taken us a year and half when we first shot it... But it happens all the time to movies and stuff.”

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to its debut, the show has been attracting buzz, with the star being tagged as the next McDreamy. Asked how he feels about it, he laughed, “It kinda sounds like a new burger from McDonald’s, isn’t it? But yeah, it’s a fun title. My grandma likes it.”

If and when he’s not busy with work, the 31-year-old writer/director (whose indie productions, the latest of which is Cold, have made the rounds of international film fests) spends much of his downtime reading, surfing, watching movies and playing paddle tennis, his newest obsession. He’s also active on social media, wherein he recently posted tweets decrying the timing and placement of certain TV and advertising content as not suitable for children.

Eoin said, “I’m starting to get involved with an organization which I’m just trying to figure out the best way to approach it — to deal with raising awareness of violence against women. It’s amazing posting things (on Twitter) about those stuff and seeing the reactions of people because sometimes I find people give me more of an opinion when I post a picture about a small animal or I say something stupid. Then, you try to post something serious, and people don’t really react the same way, so I’m trying to figure out what people’s reactions are. I think there’s a fine balance between kind of advertising and marketing and kind of how to come across socially and how people and children and stuff they are exposed to. I’m interested to see how to make people aware and kind of make them think about things (because) sometimes or too often, people just accept things.”