Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Dr. Death’s Dominic Burgess

English actor Dominic Burgess is known for the dynamic characters he’s brought to life in projects like Batman Begins, Feud, The Good Place, The Flash, and Modern Family.

This July, he can be seen starring opposite Joshua Jackson, Christian Slater, Alec Baldwin, Carrie Preston, and Anna Sophia Robb in the chilling series Dr. Death. Based on a true story and hit podcast, Dr. Death follows patients entering the operating room of Dr. Duntsch for routine surgeries and leaving permanently maimed or dead. As the bodies begin to pile up, two fellow surgeons and a young Assistant District Attorney set out to stop him.

Dominic shines as Jerry Summers, the childhood friend and former patient of. Dr. Duntsch.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Dominic about his thriving career, his work behind the scenes, and, of course, we learned all about Dr. Death.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling and art?
Dominic: I’ve loved film and TV ever since I was little. I would go to Blockbuster with my dad every weekend and rent either Gremlins or Transformers on an alternating schedule. I’ve always loved storytelling and film.

When I was in high school, I started to do theater productions. We did Death of a Salesman and Twelfth Night. That was when my gears started shifting toward, “Oh wow. I love this. I enjoy it. I would love this to be some sort of career.” I enjoyed genre shows like X-Files, Twin Peaks, Star Trek, and Buffy. My goal was always to try to get to Los Angeles and have a career here in America.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Dominic: Oh boy. That’s a big question too. One of the best things about being an actor is that you get to jump from project to project. You meet so many interesting and wonderful people on the way. I’ve never been an actor who has chosen one sort of acting method, whether it’s Stanislavski or Method or whatever it is. The people that you meet along the way give you little gold nuggets of advice about what they did in their career and what helps them.

Is there one person in particular? Alfred Molina has always been a big inspiration. I got to work with him on Feud. Then I wrote and directed a short film that he so wonderfully took part in. He has this wonderful spirit of generosity and a willingness to jump right in. He enjoys the work and is such a wonderful, warm human being. When you work with people like that, it makes the job so enjoyable. I’m going to say Alfred Molina.

PC: That’s the perfect segue to the next question. In addition to being an actor, you’re also a producer, director, and writer. How has your work behind the scenes made you a stronger actor and vice versa?
Dominic: Doing my very first short film and being involved with every area of production was such an eye-opener. Directing and producing and putting together the logistics and the contracts and going through SAG, you realize what a tiny fragment of the process actors actually are. We’re such a small cog in such a big wheel. That helped relieve pressure on me as an actor. When you first start out as an actor, you put all this pressure on yourself. You think, “Oh gosh. I can’t mess up. Everything is revolving around me, and what I’m doing is so important.” But there are so many other things going on.

On the flip side, now I know what everyone else in the production is doing. I know how hard they’re all working. I’m there to do a job and serve my purpose and enjoy it. It’s such a big collaboration. No one project is one person’s. It’s such a collaboration.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Dominic: I always feel like I’m always hustling, auditioning, and looking for work. I don’t think there has been any one moment that has transcended any other in terms of pushing my career forward. There have been personal successes and little victories like getting to work on Star Trek. That was an amazing moment because I’m such a fan of that show. Or getting to work with certain people like Ryan Murphy on Feud. Those moments feed my soul creatively, rather than making me feel like, “Ah, if I can just get this one job that will open all the doors,” because I don’t feel like it works like that. It’s an uphill climb and baby steps all the way. Up, up, up we go. That’s how it feels.

Dr. Death

PC: Speaking about up, up, and up, can you tell us about Dr. Death and your character in the series?
Dominic: Of course, Dr. Death…what a journey. I play Jerry Summers, who was Christopher Duntsch’s best friend. Christoper Duntsch is the Dr. Death in question. Jerry is this larger-than-life, gregarious, tactile, loving person. He was so loyal to his friends. He was so loyal to Christoper Duntsch. It’s a challenging role. Of course, since production started, the real Jerry passed away. I never reached out to him before production started. I didn’t feel like it was my place to reach out and ask this human who’d been through so much if I could pry into his life for the sake of a television show. If he had reached out to me, that would have been a whole different story. But he was a really fascinating, fascinating guy. I’m so honored to get the opportunity to play him.

PC: You’ve worked on projects of all sizes. What was it about this particular one that stood out to you?
Dominic: The show taps into something very human. When we go to a doctor, a dentist, a physician, or anyone whose care we place our trust in, that’s a big piece of trust that we place into their hands, especially if we’re going onto an operating table. That taps into something that everyone can relate to. You go onto an operating table because you’re in pain. You hope when you wake up that pain will be gone. You never in your wildest dreams imagine that you’ll wake up worse or not able to work or with nerve damage or that you might not even wake up at all. That’s terrifying. It’s a show that can speak to everyone. I know that going forward, if I ever go to a medical practitioner, I’ll be thinking about it in the back of my mind.

PC: When you’re working on a project that’s based on a true story and a real-life person, does that change your preparation? How did you prepare to step into Jerry’s shoes?
Dominic: It’s a lot of research on my part. I went down a social media rabbit hole, looking at the things he had posted, what his hobbies were, and what he loved. Jerry loved his dog Stella and was an avid sports fan. He loved his friends. He was so friendly, open, and loyal. That’s what I can tap into as an actor—his loyalty, even to a fault, to Christopher Duntsch. That’s where I started with him. Then you listen to how he talks and think about where he’s from and the physicalities that he would have. I love that preparation. I love character work. Character actors that change themselves vocally and physically really inspire me too.

PC: Many of your scenes are opposite Joshua Jackson. What was it like collaborating with him?
Dominic: Josh is one of the nicest people that you could hope to work with. He’s had a long, wonderful career between The Affair and Dawson’s Creek. He’s always played these relatable everymen who have these warm sides to them, and Christopher Duntsch is not that. It was so fascinating to see this wonderful, warm, open human being play someone with laser focus and these narcissistic qualities. Once the cameras started rolling, he was there and in the zone. He’s terrifying, especially later in the season when Jerry is lying in the hospital bed. Christopher Duntsch has done all these things to him and his attitude is “Look what you’ve done, Jerry. You’ve wrecked my career.” It’s such a fascinating mindset. He was an absolute dream to work with.

PC: You mentioned earlier that this is one of your most challenging roles to date. What did you learn about yourself as an artist, being a part of this project?
Dominic: This was the first time that I had been on a project away from home for so long. I was filming in New York for five months. Because it was during COVID as well, it was really somewhat of an exercise in isolation. I was living in a tiny apartment. I avoided subways, bars, and restaurants because I didn’t want to be the person responsible for shutting down a production. There was actually a lot of solitude and reflection.

It was actually a really nice, quiet, reflective time. I got a lot of writing done. Every job, you grow as an artist and performer. You see how other people work, and you learn from them. As the production went along and the COVID restrictions started to lift ever so slightly, I would go and sit in the video village and watch what everyone was doing. I love learning. I was trying to be like a sponge and soak up everything I could.

To keep up with Dominic, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Dr. Death today on Peacock.

Photo Credit: Emily Sandifer