In his being so charming and easygoing, Johnny M Wu managed to give a strong performance as Randall Shentu on Chicago Med Season 7.
We at Survived The Shows had the great pleasure of interviewing Johnny M Wu and discussing with him the highlights of his character Randall Shentu‘s storyline on Chicago Med Season 7. He also gave us some hints about what should have come for Shentu and Dr. Taylor on episode 20 of Chicago Med Season 7 between Shentu and Dr. Vanessa Taylor.
How is it like to work on the show? Did you feel like family right away? Had you already watched Chicago Med before being cast as Shentu?
I want to say that the people working on Chicago Med are some of the best people that I’ve ever come across professionally. So when I got the job, when I got the audition, you know, I was very excited because I had watched Chicago Med. Not all every single episode, but I had watched it from the beginning because I’m a big fan of Epatha [Merkerson] and Oliver [Platt].
And just to address the family question a little bit. I mean, coming into this job, you know, I had done a lot of guest stars across a lot of different shows, but never more than two episodes at a time. So when you’re somebody that they know is not coming back after like a week or whatever, you definitely have a different sort of interaction with people on set, just because everybody’s busy and, if you’re not going to be around next week, then people don’t really go out of their way to be extra warm to you, nor do I expect them to be.
But with this role, because it’s a big character and the way that I was brought on like my very first day.
I get there. And I get done with hair and makeup and I’m about to change into wardrobe. And I get pulled by the 2nd AD who told me that the producer Nicole would love to bring me on set to meet everybody. So that was super warm like I’ve never had that experience before and so the first person that I met on the show was Epatha, and we have, you know, a close mutual friend between us that, you know, told me to say hello so..
Right off the bat it was just such a warm-like connection between me and Epatha, which thank goodness because most of my scenes, you know, I’m dotting heads with her over how to run the hospital. But yeah, it’s been a tremendous, you know, tremendous honor to be invited on to this cast, and it’s been what a what a dream it’s been so far.
Can you tease something about Randall Shentu’s future on the show? Do you know if your character will be around much longer? Will Randall Shentu be back on Chicago Med for Season 8? What can you tease us?
I don’t know. Of course, there’s one more episode yet to air that I’m in in this season (episode 20). And then after that episode there will only be 2 new episodes left for this season, so. And I know that season 8 we won’t start back up until we won’t start shooting. I shouldn’t even say we let me not jinx it. Let me not jinx it, but you know Season 8 will start shooting in July. This is what I am aware of and as of right now. You know you guys will probably know about Doctor Randall Shentu’s future about the same time that I know.
It looks like sparks are about to fly between Randall Shentu and Dr. Vanessa Taylor. What can we expect?
They have started this romance between me and Doctor Taylor. And so you should have seen us together in episode 7×20: that’s what it was supposed to come up. But I will say that it seems like a very strong beginning for me and her. At least on my head I feel like doctor Shentu thinks that it’s going very well with Vanessa and we’ll see. I would of course love to explore that storyline further, but I don’t know what the fans feel. […] We have that episode where I had to get into scrubs and be a doctor and she was instructed to basically keep an eye on me and evaluate my abilities as a doctor. And coming off all that like big long hard day where I had to make a lot of concessions.”
“Doctor Shentu had to make a lot of concessions on the rules that he had set down. “
And you know, with also Doctor Archer, you know being like the classic bad guy that he gets to be sometimes and doubting just like being you’re a suit. And you don’t belong in the trauma rooms. To have all of that happen and, I think it was really well written on the writers part, you know, to have Doctor Taylor sort of take in doctor Shentu’s humanity really, the whole episode because prior to that episode we had only seen the guy doing his job as a compliance officer and you don’t get to see a lot of heart when you are just that guy but I think they wrote a lot of real care and sincerity and genuine sort of concern for the patient coming out of Doctor Shentu.
So I think, you know, it was very nice that Doctor Taylor picked up on that and was interested in sort of going against the odds as well.
Because her colleagues are sort of like ‘oh man, this guy is such a pain in the ass right?’ So it was really heartwarming to read that in the script that you know she comes back at the end and invites me to a concert. But since then, you know, I guess the writing has been that, like I’ve ignored.
I’ve been like late in texting their back or whatever. I just want to say for the record that Asjha Cooper, who plays Doctor Taylor, is one of the most charming and fun people that I’ve worked with and I would like to apologize on Doctor Shentu’s behalf that he would think of not texting back Doctor Taylor with absolute immediacy.
Your character Shentu joined the show at a very particular time, that is to help the hospital after it got involved in the VAS-com scandal as a compliance officer. Do you think it was the right move for the hospital?
Actually, that’s an interesting question because you know, I didn’t know too much about the hospital structure and who has power over who and who’s really making the decisions up top. You know? So I, I had to learn a lot about ‘hey, what’s expected of this position, right?’ Because, you know, there’s a big problem, and so it seems like you know.
The guy who gets brought in is just a problem solver, like he gets brought in because he is skilled at solving problems. So I talked to one of my good friends from high school who was who’s a very like famous Doctor. Now she’s like worked at all the big hospitals in the country, whatever. And she was at. She was actually very surprised that it took the show to season 7 to have a compliance officer because she was like if any hospital in the world needs a compliance officer, it’s going to be Gaffney Chicago Medical Center because so so much drama happens there.
It’s actually, I think it’s a really smart addition to the the world of of Chicago Med to to have this guy come in. Especially when there is a big pronounced problem because, you know, as much as doctors love to make their work just about the medicine and about the treatment of the patients, the hospital has to function as an institution. And so now I’m starting to very much sound like my character. In real life I’m not a big rules guy, but certainly…
For Shentu, you know, his whole purpose is to set rules with the objective of making something better.
So so I absolutely think that the hospital made the right move, because if they did not get this sort of image issue under control, because once any institution, if you get raided by the FBI, that’s not a good look, right? You get what I’m saying.
Like if the FBI shows up, it is like give me this and give me that. Not a good look for whatever institution you’re running, right? So so yeah, given that I think you know very smart of the board to, you know, get somebody to like, do some you know, just like you do triage on a patient you know you got to do triage on the hospital because the hospitals in trouble. So yes, yes, I think good decision on their part.
Sharon Goodwin and Randall Shentu immediately established a relationship of trust. What can you tease about the future of this partnership?
I think, you know, I have wanted to come in from the beginning and inspire trust. However, I think earlier on and really, I haven’t gotten to, I don’t think I’ve gotten to a place where I’ve really earned Goodwin’s trust. I don’t think Shentu has actually earned Goodwins trust yet. I think the episode where, you know, he did scrub in and he was able to sort of think about how his directives up to that point has been limiting in the treatment of of patients.
And you know, I think he scored a few points with Goodwin in owning up to that and saying, hey, you know I was wrong and I think moving forward. I will adjust these things that are in the way, so I think that earned him some points with Goodwin, but...
You know, I remember there was a – I brought her a coffee. You know I brought her a coffee and just the way that she liked it, you know. And then at the end of the scene like she drops it in the garbage can, and I’ve watched, you know, and I knew that. That was what it was going to be because we shot it. But even even still like when I watched it I was like ‘ohh that’s mean’.
You know, I was like ‘I don’t think, I think Randall is still earning his respect in the workplace because he’s the new guy and he’s the new guy that comes in and all of a sudden is at the same sort of power parallel as Sharon Goodwin.
Who has been the fearless leader from day one of the hospital. So all of the history that she has with her doctors and all who’s this guy you know comes in all of a sudden and he’s challenging all of that so.
I think that in the future I would love to see more of Shentu and Goodwin being actual partners in the conquering of a problem together. And then in the very first scene, yeah, she you know, because I was like I only care about the good of the patients you know and and she she went out on a limb on that, you know, and and decided to trust me, at least in that moment, you know.
And it’s just the nature of my position, right of Shentu’s position, is just somebody who is meant to be an antagonist. So it’s set up so that like I’m adding to the conflict while trying to solve the bigger conflict, right? So it’s basically like I’m sacrificing my own like likability for the mission of bettering the hospital. That’s what I like to think.
Among all the characters on Chicago Med, which one would you like to portray if you could and why?
If – you know, this would obviously not be a reality for infinite reasons, but if I had my choice of characters to portray on Chicago Med, I would absolutely be Doctor Charles and I’ll tell you why. I think, You know, mental health is something that is so so much a big part of many people’s day-to-day struggles, and they’re sort of day-to-day lives and just the the amount that they have to overcome to arrive at a good place to, you know, just to exist in a in a positive way is, you know, it’s a big.
It’s a big deal. And for me personally, you know I’ve had a long fight with mental health.
From my childhood and you know that fights never over, but I’ve gotten significantly better than I was in the past. And that’s because of, you know, the help of my psychologists and my therapists. And so I also think that Oliver brings such a care of such an amount of generosity to the role. That’s a quality that you know, all good counselors and therapists inherently have, and it’s part of – we talk about actors, talent and all of that, and you know, we as a society almost, we give actors a lot of credit in this world because, you know, we’re like, you know we are putting our bodies through what can come up in life for other human beings…
But that generosity is only felt, you know, to this extent, from actors.
I actually really want to just broadly thank that entire group of people, because especially, you know, in current times with with the world recovering from the pandemic and everything. I just think that what a necessary role to fill for the world and so I want to thank everybody out there who’s who’s setting out to take care of people’s mental health because all the physical elements, you know, it’s rather overt, right? Like if you have something that is physically wrong with you. You’re going to be like ‘OK? Well, let me go to the hospital and get this treated right’. But with mental health there is all this stigma around it and it’s so easy for people to avoid help you know.
And actually a lot of the episodes and a lot of the storylines that involve Doctor Charles, and involve patients that are very resistant, you know, to being told that they need any help on the mental front at all, you know, and that’s that’s once again just good writing on on the the producers part because you know they are really reflecting. The nature of human beings in in an honest, sincere way that I find very moving.
So yeah, I think. Doctor Charles has moved me the most as a viewer.
So yeah, I would love to get a crack at that but but you know, I bowed down at Oliver because there’s nobody that should play that role but him. Yes, and I’ve been watching him in a lot of things for a long, long time. So yeah, he’s he’s the man. He’s the man.
In your opinion, which of the characters on Chicago Med is more similar to you as Johnny?
That’s an interesting one. The first guy that comes to mind is Doctor Marcel and, I don’t know why, I don’t know why because I think I find Doctor Marcel really cool, right? Like I think that’s the point of Doctor Marcel is that he is the cool, sort of like fearless, trepid and passionate about doing his best right that you know very much a can? I can very much connect with just in terms of not shying away from something that is challenging and in fact, when something becomes more challenging, you feel you find a new gear.
That’s right when you respond to increasing difficulty with increasing conviction. I think that’s what Doctor Marcel is, and I’d like to say that, you know, I recognize that quality in myself. So I guess doctor Marcel. Once again, you know, I wouldn’t dare touch that role because, Dominic, you know NBC, just struck gold with Dominic, right? I mean like Dom like walked in for the audition for this and they were just like Oh my God like how can we not cast you and give, you know give you this role because he’s just so perfect for it. So yeah.
How did your passion for acting come about? Tell us a bit about the opening act of your career!
So I had applied to universities, all under business programs. I thought I was going to be like a finance bro. So senior year of high school I took an acting class because it was in place of regular English class. I had already gotten into college and I had decided to go to the School of Management at the university. And so I was all set and honestly I like to tell people that my entire career was sort of born out of a moment of laziness.
It was a really hard high school like a very challenging academically and I just didn’t want to write anymore papers. I was thought I was tired and so I took this acting class just really just trying to get like an easy A for like the first time in my life and then I performed and – it was clear that like my starting point was a little bit different from my peers
I also felt, you know, a great affinity for the activity on my own, and then I got off stage and the teacher was like, you know, you’re kinda have a thing. That’s what she said and I was like WHAT? I have to do something about this thing that I have, you know.
So then I started college as a theater major and then I decided to continue my training with Graduate School at UC San Diego and the beginning of my career was in 2009. My very first job. On television.
I had gotten out of showcase in Los Angeles, and it was only 10 days out of showcase in LA and I hadn’t even found an apartment yet. Because I went to grad school in San Diego, so I knew I wanted to start my career in Los Angeles. I’ve been back in New York for some time. But I was out there and I was still crashing on my buddies couch because I hadn’t even found an apartment and I get my first TV audition ever in my life. It was for a recurring guest star on the final season of 24.
So that was my first TV job out of school and I had no idea how to do television.
And I’ll tell you, I mean, it’s funny now, but I was really nervous because Kiefer Sutherland, you know, like he wanted to fire me every single day that I was on set. And I don’t blame him because I was just like too green. You know, the acting is the same but like all the logistical things are different. Because at the time I had only done, you know plays, I had only done theater. you know, up until that point and so yeah, that was. That was my that was my the beginning of my career.
You know almost thinking that I was never going to have a television. The year because I was going to get fired from my first job and then luckily I was able to pull it together and ultimately delivered something that was proud of. So that was that was the beginning.
What kind of advice would you give to your fans and our readers who would like to pursue an acting career?
Really decide whether or not this is the path that they actually want to commit to. I will say that.
The most important thing that I’ve learned. Over the years. About how to succeed is you got to make sure, first of all – you got to be aware that as an actor, as an artist of any kind, you know, […] if you’re just a corporate person and you don’t really have a creative engine, right? You’re only going to have one tank that needs filling up.
OK, that’s a tank that everybody has. That tank is… let’s just call it the money tank, right? The money tank. You need it to at least be at a certain level so that you can live life, right? So that you can live life so everybody has to put some attention into the filling up of this money tank. Alright, just to just to be a human and alive at the same time you have to worry about this, right? So the problem with artists is that you know this path is so non-linear.
Right before I started learning about this industry, I was in a very sort of narrow kind of thinking where I knew that if I put forth this amount of effort, then I am gonna get this amount of result back, right?
Just as if you’re talking about like studying for a test, right? So traditionally I guess growing up I was a good test taker because I would just put in the effort, right? I would put in the work and then every time that I put in this amount of work I would get back, you know, this kind of score, right? If I put in this amount of work I would get back this kind of score, so that sort of model has made sense to me for many years before I entered this industry and for a long time.
You know I’m talking about mental health and all of that. Mental health is very important, right? If your mental health doesn’t exist, you’re not going to continue doing anything that is hard. What I’m what what I would say to actors is.
You blessing and a curse. OK. Sometimes I wish I had the simplicity of somebody who just has one tank. But I have to recognize that I have two tanks, both of which need filling up. OK, so my other tank is the artistic tank, right? The thing that I need if I don’t. If if this tank goes on empty I almost don’t care how full the other tank is because it doesn’t matter to this entire side of me, right?
So how do- we get rejected so much? I’ve probably had like 550 auditions in the 13 years that I’ve been out right, and I’ve probably had maybe 45 jobs. Let’s say. OK, so if you’re OK with the under 10%, success rate, in order to be OK with that success rate, you have to make sure that it’s like if you’re just starting out this money tank.
Only fill it up to what you need to live and to keep training OK. Because in the environments where you can be told about your improvements, those are the moments where this artistic tank gets filled up. So really moneywise, if you had the choice between taking a day job, you know a job that you don’t really care about, right? You can do it full time or do it part time.
Do it part time if you can survive on part time, do it part time because you need the other time to be in class to train, to keep working on your art, so that even if the art isn’t paying you yet. It is still being used to fill up this tank that you can’t ignore.
That’s because once this tank runs empty you say ‘Bye bye‘. You go and you go do the job that will pay the bills and then you’re going to stay there for the rest of your life. And there’s nothing wrong with that, you know, I have to be clear that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Many times, you know, in the last 13 years I have felt like ‘oh man, I wish I just went into an office every day and just like did something that I didn’t care about and then came home and you know went to sleep like that’s that because not having purpose built in every day’. It’s hard, but you gotta find ways to create that purpose for yourself.
I teach acting at two universities in NYC but also privately. You can check www.johnnywu.tv/coaching for the training that I offer.
To watch the full interview with Johnny M Wu from Chicago Med Season 7, watch the video above!
Keep following us for more news on Chicago Med Season 7 and its cast, including Johnny M Wu!
Desirèe
Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, Survived The Shows / @survivedtheshows / @SurvivedShows to keep updated!
