Jeff Heller
NBC has another sitcom hit on their hands. St Denis Medical has proven to be a success with critics and fans like, scoring a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and bringing in solid Neilson ratings. The series, which has been picked up for a second season, was co-created by Eric Ledgin and Justin Spitzer, who previously had luck on the network with Superstore, which ran for six seasons.
The mockumentary-formatted show follows an eclectic group of underfunded, yet dedicated, doctors and nurses who navigate caring for patients while keeping it all together at an Oregon hospital.
We spoke with cast members Mekki Leeper, Kahyun Kim, Kaliko Kauahi, and Josh Lawson about their roles on the hit series.
Awards Radar: I’d like to start by talking about your characters a little bit. Mekki, I’ve seen Matt described as a lovable idiot, but I think he’s just kind of sheltered and naive. I’m just curious how you would describe Matt.
Mekki Leeper: Yeah, I don’t think he’s an idiot. I just think that like most of his experiences are his first time having that experience. So, that’s what you’re seeing. Yeah, I think naive is spot on.
Awards Radar: I’m curious, is there anything besides what you get from the script that you’ve brought to the character?
I think that there’s a sort of vacant expression I’m able to bring to the page that was not there. I have a lot in common with Matt. I grew up pretty like sheltered and stuff, so there are little moments here and there that are improvised. But it’s really the super funny writers that make Matt like the way that he is.
Kahyun, can you talk to me about Serena a little bit?
Kahyun Kim: I think she’s very cool. She’s obviously hot because I am her. And I think she’s really fun. And she really wears her whole emotions on her face. There’s no coverup. She’s very honest. I think she’s really fun. And she’s just really honest to who she is. That’s why I think she’s so fun to play.
Mekki Leeper: I think you are also kind of stuck that way. It is almost to your detriment that you are unforgivingly yourself. think that a lot of the characters have a shared bond with the actor that plays them.
Awards Radar: How would you describe Matt and Serena’s relationship? Because it seems complicated, but one-sidedly complicated.
Mekki Leeper: I think that that’s actually probably spot on. Yeah, I think it is a complex web of emotion searching for meaning. I think it’s gotta be like…
Kahyun Kim: It’s like in real life.
Mekki Leeper: Yeah, actually, yeah, I think it’s for Kahyun and for Serena, it’s like, “Work is very simple. I show up, I have fun, I do my job and I’m there. I’m like, “What does this mean? Am I going to get to keep doing this? Does everyone hate me? So, I think, yeah, it’s very one-sided in that way.
Kahyun Kim: Oh, that’s funny.
Awards Radar: Kaliko, Val seems to be the grounding force at the hospital. She’s a much character different than the one you portrayed the last time you worked with Eric and Justin. Is that what drew you to the role?
Kaliko Kauahi: I honestly was so thrilled just to work with Eric and Justin and the whole team again. I couldn’t wait to get the band back together! I loved playing Sandra, but I was excited for the opportunity to shift to a vastly different character. I appreciated that they had gotten to know me over the years and saw that I could embody someone with a completely different perspective.
Awards Radar: What do you hope to see out of Val going into season two?
Kaliko Kauahi: More attitude and keeping people in line. But also, more fun with her and the rest of the gang finding a way to get through the day.
Awards Radar: Josh, Bruce has a pretty healthy ego. Are you able to relate to Bruce on a certain level, or is he just too far gone in his self-assurance?
Josh Lawson: Every actor has to have a little bit of an ego, otherwise we’d have all given up long ago. Though I if I had Bruce’s ego, I think I’d have been blacklisted by now. But maybe a little ego is necessary in his line of work. If I were a patient, I’d choose the surgeon who tells me he’s the best in the world over the one who says, “I’ll give it my best shot but no
promises, okay?”
Awards Radar: You get to show off your dancing skills in the hospital gala episode. Can you talk about that scene a bit?
Josh Lawson: From the jump, we knew the joke wasn’t that Bruce was bad at dancing. On the contrary, we thought it was much funnier if he was quite good! The funny came from how seriously he was taking it. So, as someone who is NOT a dancer, the challenge was making it good enough to let the right kind of comedy come out of it. Then life imitated art in a way, because I took that routine really seriously and worked so hard on getting it as good as it could be. Trust me, there is no part of that dance routine when I’m thinking “this is funny”. All I’m thinking is “please let this be good”. And hopefully there’s some funny in that.
Awards Radar: Has the documentary style of the series been a challenge at all?
Kaliko Kauahi: It was definitely a shift for me and did take a little while to get used to. You spend your whole career as an actor making sure you don’t look directly into the camera and blow a take to suddenly being encouraged to do so. I still mostly do it only when scripted or directed. It helps that Val is not overly concerned with the camera crew being at her place of work. She’s got things to do.
Josh Lawson: I keep forgetting I’m allowed to look straight to camera. I’ve been acting in front of the camera for a long time, and this is definitely the first job in which looking at the camera is encouraged.
Mekki Leeper: Personally, I prefer it. I like it better. You’re always covered. So, if you think of something like they did get it. It’s not a thing where it’s like, “Oh my God, that was great. Try to do it again on the next take. And then you try to react the same way in the next take. It’s impossible to recreate some of these things with single cam sometimes. So, it’s cool to have the doc thing. Also, we kind of get to treat the camera like a character.
Kahyun Kim: Yeah, that’s the really fun part. I think it definitely took a hot second for me to get used to looking into the camera and showing my feelings, but the camera is definitely like another character in the show that we can be honest with. Every character gets to have their own relationship with the camera. I think that’s super unique to this genre and what makes it really fun for people to watch.
Mekki Leeper: It just feels like you have an extra tool in your tool belt that you can use anytime. Like if something is weird, you want to communicate to the person you’re in the scene with that it’s weird, but then you have this extra release valve to the audience.
Kahyun Kim: It’s kind of like a play. It makes it very theater-y, where you’re really living the moment. And like, you know, you really get to experience it and block it out how it will happen in real life. So, it makes it feel more real.
Awards Radar: Can you talk about the challenges of prop acting? Because there is quite a bit of keeping busy while delivering lines in the series.
Josh Lawson: I love acting with props. Not only does it give me something to do with my hands in a scene, but it also adds to the freneticism of working in a public hospital. The trick is to learn these complicated sequences with machines and medical equipment etc. and then 10 minutes later make it look like you’ve been doing it for years. It’s harder than it looks.
Kaliko Kauahi: This is such a good question! Some actors like to have “business” to do, and it certainly is important in making the scenes feel realistic. But medical prop acting is so specific and foreign to most people, so I definitely lean on the consultants we work with to make it seem natural. I try to simplify it as much as possible so my brain can do it while still remembering my lines and cues and blocking. Luckily for me I do a lot of clipboard work.
Kahyun Kim: Well, I just have to give Mekki props even though I don’t want to. Mekki is my mom’s favorite character. I was just in Korea and my mom was like going on about how much she loves watching Mekki because he’s so good at physical comedy. She doesn’t speak English that well, because she lives in Korea, but I think the comedy that Mekki really brings comes through the screen because he is so good at physical comedy and like the props he uses. So, yeah, as you were saying, we’re always looking for things to do and make it more realistic. We have amazing nurses who help us make it realistic instead of just doing random things.
Mekki Leeper: First of all, that’s very kind. Thank you. I do everything in physical comedy to try to court as large an international audience as I can so that I could try to maybe lead a kind of Transformers thing eventually. It’s all very cynical and it’s about money. I want everyone to know that.
No, I love like trying to look for something in a scene where I’m like, “Oh, I could knock over a bunch of that stuff or fall down over this cart or whatever.” It’s really fun and it’s also part of the magic of having those cameras on you because when you’re on a regular show, it’s great if there’s something you could knock down over there, but if it’s not in the frame, it’s completely useless to you. Whereas in this, if I see it in the hospital, I can run over there and fall down.
Awards Radar: Can you talk about working with Eric and Justin?
Kaliko Kauahi: Yuck. No, I’m kidding. I feel so fortunate to be working with Eric and Justin again. To be able to work on a new show but to feel so comfortable from day one because of the relationship that we built over years of working together is such a treat. I love the shorthand we can implement and the trust that is there. These guys and the entire team they’ve assembled have created a space that is so safe and creative and encouraging. When the writing is good and you have an excellent crew to execute the scene, my job is a dream.
Josh Lawson: I’m lucky that I’d worked with them both before on Superstore and loved that experience so much. I’m sure that played a part in being cast in this. And I’ve always felt that we approach the work similarly. The way they write feels like it’s right in my sweet spot. Their dialogue feels really natural to me. Plus, they seem to complement each other so well. Justin feels more cerebral, and Eric more emotional. It’s a partnership that makes perfect sense to me.
Season One of St. Denis Medical is currently streaming on Peacock.
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