List of ''Chicago Med'' characters

Dr. Will Halstead

Portrayed by Nick Gehlfuss

Dr. Will Halstead is an attending in the Emergency Department.^[2] He was first introduced to the Chicago franchise in the Chicago P.D. episode "Say Her Real Name" as Detective Jay Halstead's estranged brother who drops by to visit in a two-episode arc. The character moved to Med after being introduced in the show's backdoor pilot on Chicago Fire and Gehlfuss was made a regular cast member when the characters at Chicago Medical Center who appeared in both Fire and P.D. were given their own spin-off.

Dr. Halstead was initially written as a plastic surgeon who left his private practice (or was implied in P.D. to have been "kicked out") in New York City and returned home to Chicago. After the backdoor pilot of Chicago Med, he decided to switch specialties to emergency medicine. When Med first premiered, he was Chief Resident. As of season 2 he has been an attending.^[2] He is characterized as a competent and compassionate doctor who tries to do what he thinks is best for his patient but his single-minded stubbornness has sometimes clouded his judgment. Charge Nurse Maggie Lockwood once described him as "a slightly anal, overly stubborn, rule breaking, control freak".^[3]

In season 1 Dr. Halstead clashes a number of times with Dr. Connor Rhodes, a trauma surgery fellow, and Sharon Goodwin, the chief administrator, over hospital practices and policies. He particularly disliked Dr. Rhodes as he felt the latter was an entitled "rich kid" from the more affluent northern suburbs.^[4] They eventually call an unspoken truce by the end of the season as they developed a mutual professional respect for one another. During the episode "Choices" he finds himself in hot water after ignoring a patient's DNR and faces a lawsuit as a result. He also earns the ire of attending Dr. Kendra Perrington in the episode "Inheritance" for overriding her at the request of the patient's brother, who was his former schoolmate, only to find out that she was on the hiring committee. This put his job prospects in jeopardy as he was in the last year of his residency. In the season 1 finale he receives a letter of offer for an attending position in the ED, much to his relief. For much of early season 2, he stresses out over his finances as he still had to pay off his student loans and sizeable malpractice insurance (due to his malpractice suit from the episode "Clarity").^[3] He initially sees final year medical student Jeff Clarke as a rival for Natalie's affections but develops a friendship with Clarke and often encourages him.

During the first season, Dr. Halstead had feelings for the pediatric emergency medicine fellow, Dr. Natalie Manning, who was then pregnant with her late husband's baby. It caused some awkwardness as her mother-in-law (portrayed by actress Annie Potts) was extremely protective and initially viewed him with suspicion. He eventually decided to move on and starts dating pathologist, Nina Shore (portrayed by Patti Murin, the real-life wife of Gehlfuss' co-star Colin Donnell). They move in together in the season 2 episode "Free Will".^[5] They break up in final of season 2 because he still has feelings for Natalie. In the first episode of season 3 “Nothing To Fear”, Natalie returns from a three-month sabbatical and tells him she also has feelings for him too and they became a couple.

When he was first introduced on P.D., it was implied that he and Jay had not seen each other for some time. Jay still had lingering bitterness over the fact that Will was not around when their late mother was ill (she died of cancer).^[6][1] Despite this, they remain close and look out for one another.^[7] The brothers have a difficult relationship with their father Pat although they do care about him.^[8] The Halsteads are from a working class Irish Catholic background, as implied by Will's statements about growing up in Canaryville, a historically Irish neighborhood in the South Side of Chicago, and being an altar boy in his youth.^[9] He attended De La Salle Institute, where he excelled academically but was also bullied by the more popular students.^[10] It is likely that he and his brother were ostracized for coming from a lower socioeconomic background as Jay has also made a reference to being ostracized by his more affluent counterparts at private school.^[11]

Dr. Halstead plays the guitar and performed at weddings to pay his way through medical school.^[7] It was a reference to actor Nick Gehlfuss's days as a busker in New York City when he first entered the acting industry.^[5]

He is a supporter of the Chicago White Sox^[3] like his father.^[8]

Dr. Natalie Manning

Portrayed by Torrey DeVitto

Dr. Natalie Manning (neé Conte) is a pediatrician originally from Seattle who is doing a fellowship in emergency medicine.

Natalie was widowed when her husband, Jeff, a soldier, was killed in Afghanistan and gave birth to their son, Owen. She is revealed to be a skilled violinist, as seen in season 1 episode "Fallback" and season 2 episode "Brother's Keeper".

In season 1, Natalie is portrayed as a caring doctor who sometimes becomes overly emotionally connected to her young patients. She is also grieving for her late husband and gently dissuades Dr. Halstead's romantic advances asking to remain friends. In the first episode of the third season “Nothing To Fear”, Natalie returns from a three-month sabbatical and tells Will she has feelings for him and they became a couple.

April Sexton

Portrayed by Yaya DaCosta

April Sexton is a nurse in the Emergency Department. She was first introduced in Chicago Fire as a friend of Lieutenant Kelly Severide.

April's parents were immigrants from Brazil. Their original family name was Suassuna but they anglicized it to "Sexton" as it was easier to pronounce.^[4] She attended high school with Severide and they share a close friendship. He had been going through a rebellious phase in high school after being abandoned by his father and the Sextons often invited him to their house out of concern.

April is courted by an ex-pro football player, Tate Jenkins (Daren J. Powell) whom she meets when Tate brings his young son into the ED. She is initially skeptical and views Tate as a "player," but after getting to know each other, she develops a trust in him and they move in together. He proposes to her in the episode "Inherent Bias".^[12]

In season 2, April is infected with Tuberculosis from a needle stick in the ED and has to deal with the ramifications in her personal and professional life. In the season 2 fall finale, it was revealed she that she is pregnant.^[7] However, the treatment for her tuberculosis put her in a difficult position as the medication was potentially harmful to the fetus. She refused to have an abortion due to her Catholic faith.

In the season 2 finale, “Love Hurts” the doctors celebrate Noah Sexton’s (April’s younger brother) graduation party after he graduated medical school. April walks away from the party noticing that Noah is having a lot of fun. She walks over to a bridge and overlooks the water. Ethan Choi walks over to her and kisses her as to which she lets him.

In season 3, Choi and April began a relationship in which they hide it from the ED. A nurse grows suspicion on them asking her questions to which April simply ignores and exaggerates. Later on, opening up about her relationship to the ED. The two often clash in the ED about medical judgements over their patients, but continue to be much supportive over another.

Dr. Sarah Reese

Portrayed by Rachel DiPillo

Dr. Sarah Reese is a recent medical school graduate and psychiatry resident. The character was not introduced in the backdoor pilot on Chicago Fire.

In season 1 she was a final year medical student still undecided about which specialty to choose. During her rotation in the ED she decided against emergency medicine after a patient she had diagnosed chose to go against medical advice, leaving her discouraged.^[13] She chose pathology but soon realized that she did not want to spend the rest of her training in a lab without any contact with patients and even fainted from the stress.^[14] However, as her match was legally binding it meant that she would be left without a job if she rejected Chicago Med's offer. She worked as a barista until Head of Psychiatry Dr. Charles offered her a spot in his department. She discovers that she enjoys interacting with patients and learning about the psychological side of medicine, although it leads her to subconsciously "shrink" her own colleagues, much to the nurses' amusement.^[3] Season 2 sees the character undergo further development as a full-fledged doctor and resident. At times she has let her emotions get in the way and Dr. Charles has had to step in to caution her. She has difficulty dealing with death and the experience of having to call time of death gets to her. During a night shift she had to make the call three times in a row, leading to her breaking down into tears at the end of the shift.^[15]

Her mother is a litigation attorney who is implied to be a career woman who loves her but is emotionally distant from her.^[13] During the season 1 finale, her mother does not attend her graduation from medical school but sends her money. She is main cast from season one until season four and appears for the final time in the season four premiere "Be My Better Half", after she found out that Doctor Charles discovered that her father was suspected to be a serial killer, causing a fallout between them. She decided to leave Chicago Med and joined Baylor as she said she could no longer trust Dr. Charles when he kept his investigation of her father a secret from her.

Dr. Connor Rhodes

Portrayed by Colin Donnell

Dr. Connor Rhodes is a cardiothoracic surgery fellow. The character was not introduced in the backdoor pilot aired on Chicago Fire, as Colin Donnell only joined the cast as a series regular when Chicago Med was picked up.^[16]

Dr. Rhodes attended Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Mexico and spent a year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia following his residency.^[4] He was initially a trauma surgery fellowship but switched to cardiothoracic surgery under Dr. Downey's mentorship. Since Dr. Downey's death he has been mentored by Dr. Latham, with whom he has a difficult relationship.

Dr. Rhodes comes from a wealthy background and was written as a "local boy" who left Chicago to escape his family before returning many years later. His background was a source of embarrassment and he tried to hide it from his colleagues in the ED for some time, although they came to accept him as one of them and would good-naturdly tease him whenever his name appears in a lifestyle magazine. His relationship with his family is complicated and it deteriorated further after his mother's suicide. His father was against his choosing medicine over the family business and would repeatedly undermine and discourage him to the point where father and son are no longer on speaking terms.^[17] In the episode "Natural History" his sister Claire resorts to calling him at work and then confronting him in person to call him out on abandoning her in his attempt to get away from their father years ago. At the end of the episode he reluctantly visits her at the family business to take her to dinner, much to her delight.

He was in a relationship with attending Dr. Samantha "Sam" Zanetti but they break up in the episode "Saint".^[18] He meets epidemiologist Dr. Robin Charles at the hospital cafeteria^[12] and they become friends, although it causes some awkwardness once he realizes that she is Dr. Daniel Charles' daughter. They are now in a relationship and cohabiting.^[8] In "Ties That Bind", Robin breaks up with Rhodes by leaving a letter on the table with the intent of him reading the letter. He confronted Dr. Charles on the break up unannounced and vowed that he will find her to make the relationship work.

In Season 3, Rhodes often clashes with Dr. Ava Bekker, a doctor from Africa who Dr. Latham assigned to work with. The two have different medical judgements, often making it hard for the both of them to get along with. In “Folie à Deux” Rhodes comes into the ED with a woman (later implying that he had a one night stand) A nurse looks into her medical insurance and notices it’s under a man name. The woman replies by saying that that’s her husband. Dr. Bekker asks her if they should contact him but she says no. The woman laters says that she’s been cheating on her husband a lot. The husband arrives later without his knowledge of his wife and Dr. Rhodes’s one night stand and thanks him for caring for his wife. Dr. Rhodes and Ava are in a room discussing about earlier and thank each other. The two end up kissing as the episode ends.

In “Born This Way”, Rhodes is in the kitchen making breakfast as Ava puts on her clothes (implying that they had a one night stand)

Dr. Ethan Choi

Portrayed by Brian Tee

Dr. Ethan Choi is a resident in the Emergency Department and a former active duty United States Navy officer. Like Dr. Rhodes, the character was not in the backdoor pilot and only introduced when Chicago Med was picked up. He is generally reserved and reticent, which Dr. Charles attributes to his military background.^[17] His aloof and detached exterior sometimes intimidates the medical students and junior residents under him but he has shown to be sympathetic and supportive with them, as well as his other coworkers and the CFD paramedics. He is of Korean descent^[19] (like actor Brian Tee) and once implied that he has been subjected to racism during his childhood as he grew up in a neighborhood where there were "not many families with the last name Choi".^[20][21]

Dr. Choi is well-regarded by his colleagues in the ED. Beginning in season 2 he takes over Dr. Halstead as Chief Resident^[21] and has a forgettable first day, much to everyone's amusement as they were used to seeing him calm and in control. He initially tries to run his own system but quickly realizes that Maggie and the nurses were actually the ones in charge. Despite his rocky start he has returned to his usual dependable self.

A second generation Navy veteran,^[13] Dr. Choi switched to the reserves^[17] to begin his residency and is revealed to be suffering from PTSD. He had been coping despite suffering from insomnia^[14] and nightmares and initially resisted treatment as he was still functional at work. Eventually he seeks proper treatment after breaking down in Dr. Charles' office but used his work as an excuse to put off subsequent counselling sessions.^[6] After a series of emotional near-breakdowns and a heated confrontation with a patient's father, he sticks to counselling and joins a support group at the VA.^[14] He adopts a parrot who refuses to fly due to trauma from being cooped up in a hoarder's house for months and verbally abused^[22] and volunteers at the zoo as part of his therapy.^[15] He has only ever discussed his military service with fellow veterans, as seen in the Chicago P.D. episode "Forty-Caliber Bread Crumb", in which he has drinks with former Army Rangers and combat veterans Detective Jay Halstead (Dr. Halstead's brother) and CPD tech analyst Greg "Mouse" Gurwitch at Molly's.^[23] Despite his cool and collected demeanor it is apparent that he has been deeply affected by the horrors he witnessed overseas as well as in the ED. He has a notebook in which he writes down the name, date and time of death and description of every patient who has died on his watch.^[3]

He lived with his girlfriend Dr. Vicky Glass (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), who works at the nearby VA hospital and is a fellow Navy veteran. She is one of the few people he has confided in about his PTSD.^[13]

Sharon Goodwin

Portrayed by S. Epatha Merkerson

Sharon Goodwin (née McGee),^[12] RN, MPH, MBA^[19] is the Chief of Services and oversees the day-to-day operations of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. A former OR nurse,^[24] she is generally the final authority when it comes to medico-legal issues, professional ethics and, when necessary, disciplining.

Sharon was happily married to Bert. He had been trying to persuade her to retire and entice her with exotic locations to travel to. In the episode "Intervention" they celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary. However, Bert leaves her in the season 1 finale. The first several episodes of season 2 sees her dealing with the emotional fallout and clearing out his belongings from their house. In the episode "Extreme Measures" she initiates divorce proceedings and tells the attorney that she and her husband were past reconciliation. Her first love had been photojournalist Reggie Dixon when she was an eighteen-year-old high school graduate but she chose to attend college rather than travel the world with him on his assignments.^[12] Bert did not appear on-screen until he brought his new lady-friend to the hospital in the season 2 episode, "Ctrl Alt".

Dr. Daniel Charles

Portrayed by Oliver Platt

Dr. Daniel Charles is the Chief of Psychiatry at Chicago Med. Outside of psychiatry, he is sometimes called in to help with difficult patients or speak to family members. The character has also crossed over to Chicago P.D. whenever Voight's team are dealing with a suspect or victim suffering from a psychiatric disorder which renders them dangerous and unpredictable. He has also been mentioned several times as the "shrink" Voight prefers to send his detectives to when they need counselling.

A well-respected veteran psychiatrist at Chicago Med, Dr. Charles combines his human touch with instinct and intuition to diagnose patients. The ED physicians would turn to him for a second opinion. Occasionally he has had to call out doctors in the ED on becoming too personally involved or invested in patients.^[19][6][12]

He has been married and divorced at least three times. His third wife is from Spain.^[4] One of his daughters Robin works at Chicago Med as an epidemiologist^[12] and is in a relationship with Dr. Rhodes. In the season 2 finale, he is shot after a patient waited a long time to be seen and didn’t get the care he needed.

Maggie Lockwood

Portrayed by Marlyne Barrett

Maggie Lockwood is the charge nurse of the Emergency Department and runs a tight shift with a firm hand and a quick-witted sense of humor. She has no qualms about calling out the doctors when needed and they generally defer to her for guidance during a chaotic shift ("Bagdad" mode).

Underneath her no-nonsense exterior, Maggie is compassionate and protective of her nurses and the other doctors and staff on her shift, often looking out for them as well. In season 1 she and April made sure the then-pregnant Dr. Manning did not overwork and was her "birthing partner". She also looks out for rookie resident Dr. Reese and frequently reminds her to "go home" or "get some sleep". The doctors sometimes use her as a "sounding board" and vent to her after a difficult shift.

In the episode "Natural History", it is revealed that she comes from a large and close-knit extended family and has a sister, Denise who was assigned male at birth, had gender confirmation surgery and moved to Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Ava Bekker

Portrayed by Norma Kuhling

Dr. Ava Bekker is a cardiothoracic surgeon from South Africa with whom and Dr. Rhodes begin to butt heads on professional boundaries.

Family members

• Noah Sexton (Roland Buck III) is an emergency medicine resident and younger brother of April. It is implied in a conversation Severide had with April that Noah is the "golden boy" of the family who got to go to medical school with his sister's financial assistance despite April being the more academically inclined of the siblings. He has a torrid start to his rotation at Chicago Med and is quickly intimidated after following the residents on shift at the Emergency Department. He resorts to using Reese's ideas to earn Dr. Choi's favor but she finds out about it and gives him a cold shoulder.
• Cornelius Rhodes (D. W. Moffett) is the father of Dr. Connor Rhodes.
• Claire Rhodes (Christina Brucato) is the sister of Connor.
• Helen Manning (Annie Potts) is the mother-in-law of Dr. Natalie Manning.
• Emily Choi (Arden Cho) is the sister of Dr. Ethan Choi.
• Robert Haywood (Michael Gill) is a professor and the father of Dr. Sarah Reese.
• Patrick "Pat" Halstead (Louis Herthum) is the late father of Dr. Will Halstead and Detective Jay Halstead. He first appeared in the Season 2 episode "Generation Gap" when Jay calls Will from their childhood house about Pat's heart condition. According to the brothers, Pat disapproved of their career choices, leading to their estrangement for many years. He dies in the crossover episode "When to Let Go".

Gaffney Chicago Medical Center staff and personnel

Recurring

• Dr. Samuel Abrams (Brennan Brown) is an attending neurosurgeon. He is called in when a patient admitted into the ED requires neuro-surgery or consult and is known for his blunt, pessimistic outlook.
• Dr. Samantha "Sam" Zanetti (Julie Berman) is an attending trauma surgeon. She befriended Dr. Rhodes, a trauma surgery fellow, and they started dating. However they break up as his fellowship was consuming more of his time and she tells him that she would not make him choose between her or his mentor Dr. Downey.
• Dr. Kendra Perrington (Karen Aldridge) is an attending and critical care specialist. She was one of several characters who moved over to Chicago Med after appearing on Chicago Fire as a recurring character.
• Joey Thomas (Peter Mark Kendall) is a lab tech in pathology ("the basement") and boyfriend of Dr. Sarah Reese. He initially convinces her to go into pathology and was disappointed when she changes her mind. They initially stop seeing each other for a while as they had nothing in common to talk about. They rekindle their relationship after Dr. Reese realizes that she should make the first move to get to know Joey's interests outside of work.
• Jeff Clarke (Jeff Hephner) is a medical student currently on rotation at Chicago Med. He was previously in the United States Marine Corps and then a Lieutenant in the Chicago Fire Department. An injury on the job forced him to change careers and he went back to school. At some point during his military service he met and befriended Dr. Manning's husband, who was also named Jeff. The character was reintroduced in a brief scene during the season 1 finale where he reveals that he is now divorced his wife Lisa.
• Dr. Nina Shore (Patti Murin) is a pathologist and the ex-girlfriend of Dr. Will Halstead.
• Dr. Isidore Latham (Ato Essandoh) is the new cardiothoracic surgeon brought in to replace the late Dr. Downey. He bluntly tells Dr. Rhodes at their very first meeting that the latter was not his first choice fellow and only obliged after being told to do so by the board. A devout practicing Orthodox Jew, he does not work on the Sabbath except in a medical emergency.^[25] Dr. Rhodes intensely disliked him for his bluntness and seemingly lack of tact but those characteristics are eventually explained by the fact that he was on the autism spectrum. However he appears to aware of the fact that his lack of social skills was the result of autism and seeks Dr. Charles' expert opinion on how to improve his social skills. He later reluctantly confides in Dr. Rhodes about his autism and the latter softens his approach and would take over "PR duties" (e.g. negotiating roster duties with scrub nurses) when necessary.
• Dr. Stanley Stohl (Eddie Jemison) is the Chief of Emergency Medicine^[20] who earned the nickname "The Troll" from the ED staff for his sarcastic tone and bluntness.
• Dr. Jason Wheeler (Jurgen Hooper) is an emergency medicine resident introduced in the season 2 premiere. He had a drinking problem, which was picked up on by several of his colleagues. In the episode "Monday Mourning" he commits suicide by walking off the roof of the hospital.^[26]
• Dr. Leah Bardovi (Shiri Aljadeff) is a new cardiothoracic resident working alongside Drs. Rhodes and Latham.
• Nurse Doris (Lorena Diaz) is an ED Nurse
• Nurse Dina (Amanda Marcheschi) is an ICU Nurse
• Dr. Maia Frisch (Emma Duncan) is a pediatric cardiologist in the hospital

Chicago P.D.

• Detective Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) is a Chicago Police Department detective from the Intelligence Unit, based at the 21st District.
• Detective Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) is a fellow CPD detective and colleague of Erin Lindsay in the Intelligence Unit. He is also the brother of Dr. Will Halstead. The character generally appears on the show as part of an investigation into a patient. The brothers are close but had drifted apart as Jay still had some lingering bitterness over the fact that Will was not around when their mother was dying of cancer. A former Army Ranger, Jay is also friends Dr. Choi, having bonded over their shared combat experiences.^[23] Will once expressed regret that he was not around when Jay came home from his deployment and was in dire need of familial support.^[27]

Chicago Fire

• Paramedic in Charge Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) is a paramedic from Ambulance 61 based out of Firehouse 51. As a first responder she often crosses paths with the staff in the Emergency Department.
• Paramedic Allen Chout (Alex Weisman) is a paramedic in the CFD. He was previously at Ambulance 61 on temporary duty to cover for the lack of manpower.
• Firefighter/Paramedic Gabriela Dawson (Monica Raymund) a paramedic on Ambulance 61 and previously a firefighter on Truck 81 who leaves Chicago to go to Puerto Rio for relief work