Actor Steven Weber freely admits that playing Dr. Dean Archer on "Chicago Med" is thoroughly enjoyable in the sense that, "getting to work at your life's dream is fun." But the role poses one big challenge that deeply disturbs the veteran actor.
"Listen," he said. "I'm starting to hear from people and fans of the show that Dean is not particularly liked, and that's a little disconcerting coming from a guy like me who has worked all his life specifically to be liked. I know that he comes off a certain way, so the challenge is for me to try to inject a little heart and soul underneath." Overall, despite the personality flaws, Weber sees Dr. Archer as a "good guy" and hopes fans of the show soon follow suit. "He's a bit of a mystery," Weber said. "He can be very short with people. Certainly, in the beginning when we saw him, he made some choices that were really questionable. I think the show has softened him a little bit, but he's still not immediately likable. He has proven himself as a person who has a heart, even though it might be encased in a lot of armor."
As for how Weber hopes to turn fans' distaste of his character around, he said, "It's hard. Because, like so many people in this world today, he's seen a lot ... He's not just a wrinkled, mean, ticked-off guy. He's got some layers to him, and in the upcoming episodes, we will begin to see those layers revealed. I don't think the writers and the show would have spent as much time on keeping Dean around if they weren't going to reveal some stuff about him, the why's and the wherefores that make him such a pain in the ass half the time."
Season 7 of "Chicago Med" airs Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET on NBC.
