The show has dealt with so many timely issues. How did you feel that Mel’s final arc surrounded a thorny conversation around measles and—
—anti-vaxxers?
Yeah.
It was great. I remember just reading that there have been many outbreaks. Kids die. They die. And it’s just such a strange—I can’t get into that mindset. I have no idea why they feel that way, especially when they talk about neurodivergence. Like, “All of a sudden, this shot gives you autism.” Really, you think that? Okay, I’m just going to walk away from this conversation. It’s all really bizarre, especially when it’s something like measles that is easily eradicated if you just have your shots.
Seeing especially how fast things move during the mass-casualty [event], Mel was the one that suggested, “What if we start donating our blood” Already knowing protocol—knowing that that’s so not allowed—and going, “Fuck it, we have to do it.” I like that evolution of Mel’s character, of becoming so much more of an advocate for the patient. It’s less about getting it done legally and with permission, and more about saving lives.
You’ve talked about pitching Noah on an idea for Mel early in the season, drawn from your own experiences with neurodivergence. Did you feel confident from the jump to advocate for your character like that?
Not really. They had all the scripts written, but we didn’t get to see them or know what happens. So we were like, “If I do this, will it make sense for the next few episodes?” On individual days, you could pitch something, and usually, if it made sense, they’d hear you out. And maybe you could do a few versions your way and then the other way.
With Noah, I was just like, “I don’t think it’s a good character choice to have a mumbly-fumbly, constant anxiety person. Then it’s just comic relief, as opposed to real character.” I was trying to think of ways to build confidence, and I pitched what is a very real ADHD thing, which is we are just amazing at emergencies. Something in our brain clicks. We can do things that we read about once freshman year. All of a sudden, we can pull it out.
This is an actual medical thing. We are overrepresented in emergency departments and firefighters, because there is some weird part of the ADHD brain that clicks into the perfect emergency person. My dad [Bryan Cranston] has ADHD, too, so if I’m ever sick or anything, I just call him.
Did they tell you why they didn’t want you to know what happens from episode to episode?
With Noah, he went, “That works.” I went, “It does?” He was like, “By this episode you should start getting more and more confident.” But I don’t know. I think there’s an idea from the writer-producer perspective of, “How cool would it be if they don’t know?” But every actor goes, “It would be great if we knew everything, actually!”
