‘Dr. Death’: Edgar Ramirez on Going From Victim to Villain for Latest True-Crime Drama
Edgar Ramirez takes on his second true-crime drama in Dr. Death Season 2, available now on Peacock.
In Dr. Death, he plays “Miracle Man” Dr. Paolo Macchiarini (pictured above), a charming thoracic surgeon renowned for his innovative procedures. When investigative journalist Benita Alexander (Mandy Moore) approaches him for a story, the line between personal and professional begins to blur, changing her life forever. As she learns how far Paolo will go to protect his secrets, a group of doctors halfway across the world make shocking discoveries of their own that call everything about Paolo into question.
The season is based on the Miracle Man season of Wondery’s Dr. Death true-crime podcast. Before the Peacock drama, Ramirez played fashion icon Gianni Versace in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. These two characters — one a victim, one a villain — couldn’t be more different. Ramirez tells TV Insider that when it came to preparing for these roles, being true-crime stories is all these shows had in common.
“Gianni Versace is an international icon that many people knew, so people had a common experience with who he was — certain mannerisms, certain way of speaking, of moving,” he explains. Playing a character based on a real person is “never an imitation,” he says. “It is not a photo; it is a painting. You kind of approach the character as a painter. You try to pick up certain aspects of that common experience that audiences, me included, have with the character.”
Edgar Ramirez as Gianni Versace, Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace Ray Mickshaw/FX)
With Versace, it was all about capturing the essence of the man the world knew. “With Paolo Macchiarini, I have more freedom because it is a character that people” known by all, Ramirez goes on. “And it was never the intention of anyone involved in the show to do a ‘recreation’ of the story or the characters. Now, due to our show and all the documentaries that are coming out, because the story is just so insane in the worst of senses, people will start to experience who he was as a person. But that was not important to me.”
No matter the subject, Ramirez says true-crime dramas must be carefully crafted. “Regardless of how spectacular and how strong and suited for a movie or for a show, certain real-life events are, what really matters is how you translate that on the page.”
“Because in the wrong hands, any spectacular event could just be boring and flat and not interesting,” he adds. “I think that Ashley Michel Hoban, our brilliant showrunner, and our directors, Jennifer Morrison and Laura Belsey, they did an amazing job in rescuing and picking up the elements to make the story good drama. It was very easy for me to just let myself go be guided by the tracks that were already on the page.”
All eight episodes of Dr. Death Season 2 are streaming now.
Dr. Death, Season 2, Available Now, Peacock
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