SCAD aTVfest: Matt Czuchry on the action-packed set of The Resident

Matt Czuchry is no stranger to action scenes on The Resident.

Actor Matt Czuchry attended the 8th annual SCAD aTVfest in Atlanta, GA. Matt was recognized with the festival’s Maverick Award. When accepting the award, Czuchry referred to his “21 years of hard work” in the industry and how “experience is the currency”. Attendees then screened a new episode of The Resident followed by a Q&A with moderator Brittany Kaplan from Entertainment Weekly.

So Many Shows had the opportunity to interview Matt Czuchry after the festivities at the SCADshow theater.

I talked to Matt about the physicality involved with his role as Dr. Conrad Hawkins. I pointed out that we see Conrad literally running in several scenes, whether the doctor is trying to retrieve a life-saving device or running to warn surgeons in the operating room of new findings that will impact the surgery.

Matt: What’s interesting about our show is we’re just a little medical hospital drama with a lot of action. So those medical scenes, those running scenes are action scenes. So, we have a lot of action in this show, which I love. And I think the fans enjoy that as well. So, yeah, we’re just a little hospital show with a lot of action.

(I interject – “You pack a lot of punch, I’d say”)

That’s it, that’s exactly it. We pack a lot of punch with that action and those medical scenes are the most challenging ones to incorporate the dialogue and the physicality of those scenes. And the intention and the characters and trying to communicate that to the audience and we’re trying to save lives while we’re doing what we’re doing. Those scenes are the most difficult to do and the most rewarding afterward because they are the most challenging.

I also asked Czuchry about the wear and tear that such an intense role can take on an actor. Does it take a toll on the actor off camera?

Matt: For me, I would say that we did 23 episodes last year, we are doing 23 episodes this year, so that’s basically from July until April. So it’s very taxing and we just keep going, one episode to the next episode to the next episode. So to try and maintain a certain standard and try to deliver an authentic and believable performance is incredibly taxing. And there’s a lot of life that happens between July and April, you know.

You’re working through [circumstances], perhaps you’re sick, and you have to work through that. You haven’t had much sleep, you have to work through that. You haven’t had as much preparation as you want because you haven’t had as much time with the material as you want. So, all of that and you have the emotional aspects of the character that you feel. So, all of that is incredibly taxing in this particular job.

What do you want viewers to take away from The Resident?

Matt: I think that for me it’s the interconnection that it brings. That is a word that I would use, “interconnection”. because we all deal with questions of life and death from all walks of life. So, I believe this world is connected and I think that our show hopefully brings that to life.

Thank you to Matt Czuchry and SCAD aTVfest for the opportunity to talk with Matt about his character on The Resident. The next episode of The Resident arrives March 17th on Fox.

SCAD aTVfest provides students a unique opportunity to learn from actors, directors and producers in the television industry. Several SCAD alumni were also on hand to discuss their jobs as actors, costume designers, writers and much more.

Learn more about SCAD at the college’s website.