Sophia Bush on the ‘Aggravating’ Father-Daughter Relationship in ‘Good Sam’
Q&A
Sophia Bush often chased crooks during her four seasons on Chicago P.D., and she’s on the move again when this medical drama opens. As Detroit heart surgeon Sam Griffith, she’s after a fearful man in a hospital gown trying to flee.
“Sam always goes the extra mile for her patients, even if that literally means running sprints!” the actress says, laughing. It’s the opposite of her hard-hearted father, Dr. Rob “Griff” Griffith (Jason Isaacs), who, in Episode 1, experiences a medical emergency, then returns to work six months later with Sam as his supervisor.
Bush fills us in.
How would you describe Sam’s relationship with her dad?
Sophia Bush: Complicated. Griff’s reluctance — his refusal, really — to let Sam out from under him wears on her. And yet he’s the one whose approval she craves. They love each other but it’s painful and aggravating.
Has Sam surprised herself in the chief of surgery role?
It’s a complex experience to be thrust into a position that you looked at as “down the road,” but patient satisfaction goes up under her leadership. The happiness, and success rates, of her doctors too.
Sam is clearly doing well in her career. How is her personal life?
Sam was [previously] burned by someone she loved, but I think she’s ready. There is incoming romantic energy that takes her pleasantly by surprise.
Good Sam, Series Premiere, Wednesday, January 5, 10/9c, CBS
