Former TV doc Anthony Edwards talks about what he learned from 'ER' about the world amid COVID-19

April 29, 2020April 29, 2020 Kevin

Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic(CONNECTICUT) — Emmy-winning actor and advocate Anthony Edwards knows a thing about first responders, even though, as the old saw goes, he’s not a doctor, but he played one on TV.

“The truth is that eight years that I spent on ER, I was around all kinds of trauma nurses and doctors and the kind of spirit of their the way they go to work,” Edwards tells ABC Audio via Skype. “It was so not surprising to me that not only did all of the ER docs and nurses and everybody show up, they’ve showed up for overtime and just have taken this on in risking their lives every day.”

Edwards — who played ER attending physician Dr. Mark Greene on the first eight seasons of ER — says, “It’s just been a spectacular example [not just] right in the front lines of health care, but also really in just, you know, people that are getting our food and, you know, keeping us keeping us going here. So it’s pretty inspiring time.”

Edwards adds of the challenging time, “It’s wild. I mean…whether you believe in spirituality or higher power or not, it’s like we all got a big time out, you know, and it’s like everybody’s stepping back. And I’ve been kind of overwhelmed with how conscious people have been. Everybody’s seems to be really connecting and saying hello and being respectful.”

The actor and advocate for fellow survivors of male sexual abuse is gearing up for the debut of a filmed, streaming version of the play on that topic, The Tricky Part, which debuts Thursday evening at 8 p.m. on the website of the advocacy group 1in6.org.