Grey's Anatomy 18: interview with Richard Flood (Dr. Cormac Hayes)
Grey's Anatomy 18
The eighteenth season of the most popular medical drama of recent years, Grey's Anatomy, has also started to be broadcast here in Italy on Disney Plus. To celebrate this event, we were able to take part in an international press conference where we were able to interview the more than available Richard Flood, Irish actor who plays Dr. Cormac Hayes, chief of pediatric surgery at Gray Sloan Memorial Hospital.Subscribe now to Disney + for € 8.99 per month or € 89.90 all year
Richard Flood (Dr. Cormac Hayes) and his life on set and during the pandemic
Richard Flood began by saying that he doesn't care much about how his Cormac Hayes feels to be the Meredith Grey's (Ellen Pompeo) romantic interest, as she focuses primarily on her performance, adding how important it is for him to be part of such a well-known series and with a large cast such as Grey's Anatomy, the medical drama p longest lived ever. The actor has been a part of it for three years now, so at first he felt a bit of pressure to join such a long-running series. Confidence in the writers, together with a good performance, also guarantees a good result. Richard Flood also talked about the great affection fans have for Dr. Cormac Hayes and his great experience within the series.As some of you may already know, Richard Flood is married to the actress Gabriella Pession, known on the set of the Crossing Lines series. This is why Italy is "in my heart", to quote the interpreter of Cormac Hayes, to the point that Flood would like to live and work here for many reasons: the climate, the people, the wonderful landscapes and the feeling of being in home . Particularly fascinating for him are for example Rome and Tuscany.
if (jQuery ("# crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh2_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh2_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh2"); } It should also be remembered that Richard Flood started out as a viewer of Grey's Anatomy, so he now enjoys two different points of view on the series, whose success according to him lies in the fact that, even if it shows a difficult, complex and focused world. eternal struggle between life and death, it tells stories that viewers then grow fond of, also because they can relate to it.
The penultimate season of the series dealt with the pandemic from Covid-19 still in progress, so it was some sort of meta-series about a pandemic during that same pandemic, which raised a question.
What was it like working on Grey's Anatomy season on Covid during the pandemic since Covid?
The Covid season has been difficult. Fortunately, the series is a well-run machine, so it has moved on, even in the midst of the pandemic. In the beginning, there was a big question mark: we should have told a story about Covid, or we should have told a story that had nothing to do with Covid and give people some relief from what they were feeling. in their lives?
But this is the biggest television "medical show", and this is the biggest medical emergency the world has ever seen, so we had a responsibility to reflect it on the screen, hoping to put a face to some some of the stories we saw on the news every day. I think it was the right decision, a responsible decision that actually worked, but working on it, wearing those protective suits we had to wear was a real challenge, because you can't actually hear others talking - we were wearing a microphone and a headset. in-ear, so we could hear the other actors. It was difficult from a performance standpoint to connect with the other actors, but we did our best and I think we did the right thing.
The first day on set and the relationship between Richard Flood and Cormac Hayes
Generic photos if (jQuery ("# crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh3_1"). is (": visible")) { console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh3_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh3"); } It wasn't possible for Richard Flood to share details on the future of the series, but he hinted that Cormac Hayes will have to make some important decisions in the early episodes of the new season. However, Flood was able to talk about Cormac Hayes' relationship with his children. Hayes is a single father, and the pandemic has further tested his parenting skills, even more so as he has to raise two teenagers, which is already complex in itself. Flood also admitted that he would like Cormac Hayes' relationship with his children to be deepened.The actor then spoke of the nervousness that accompanied him during his first day on set as Cormac Hayes, adding that Kevin McKidd, who plays Dr. Owen Hunt on the series, was also the director of its first episode. McKidd is Scottish, and there is a certain understanding between the Scots and the Irish, so he put him at ease during the shoot, helping him to focus on playing him. When on stage, every set is the same, because "work is work", so the only thing that really matters is still doing a good job. And to do that, you need to know the character you are playing very well.
Generic photos I'm curious about your relationship with your character, therefore: what are the things you hate most and what you love most about Cormac Hayes?
I like the fact that he's a really good doctor, he's very good at what he does, and he's brave, he takes his risks for the greater good, for the good of his patients, and he is committed to his patients and colleagues. In his private life, I think he has a hard time letting go of the past, moving forward. He must find a way to let go of the past, otherwise he will live in pain forever. I'd like him to find some happiness at some point. But there is nothing I hate about him, I think he does the best of him: it is a difficult path, that of being a single father, it is a really difficult task, but I think he does everything to the best of his ability.
if (jQuery ("# crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh4_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh4_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh4"); } Richard Flood then added that he doesn't have much in common with Cormac Hayes, whom he believes to be "more controlled" and also "probably wiser" than he is. However, they share Irish sensitivity and origins, a very strong identity, even if now Flood also feels Italy a bit like his home. He then added that Cormac Hayes's life is more hectic than his own, which he takes more calmly.
Cormac Hayes: the story with Meredith Gray and the critical issues of US health care
L ' actor then added that he does not know how his story with Meredith Gray will end, even if he would like to, nor what are the true feelings Meredith has for Cormac, but he knows that the two characters are now very close and attracted to each other. on the other. Flood then talked about an episode in particular last season in which his Cormac Hayes was injured during some protests for the Black Lives Matters movement, something that his character feels close, as the father of two black teens he wants to defend. their right to demonstrate by accompanying them.Generic photos Another US problem often covered in Grey's Anatomy is health care, so we asked Richard Flood what he thinks about it.
Grey's Anatomy shows the good things, but also the criticalities of the US health system What do you think are the biggest problems?
Health care is a very big problem here, because health care is a business here, which is different from the European tradition. It is also a factor in some of the problems that society is facing. There is a big problem here that concerns homeless people, like in Los Angeles, and these people, in my opinion and as I understand the situation, are people who also deal with mental health problems, and they cannot have access to the medications they need because they don't have a job, and if you don't have a de facto job you don't have health care. The system should… It's an impossible question for an actor to answer, what can I know? But I think health care is one of the biggest differences I've noticed between American culture and European culture.
The first episode of Grey's Anatomy 18 is available for viewing exclusively on Disney +, where you can also find all previous seasons of the medical drama. To find out more details on the Disney streaming platform, costs and use, we invite you to read our article. If you are looking for merchandise and the different seasons of the home video series, you can consult this rich page on Amazon.
