Devin Kawaoka Talks ‘Chicago Med’ and ‘Shrinking’ [Interview]

In less than twenty-four hours, Devin Kawaoka went from filming his final episode of Shrinking Season 1 to filming his first scenes on Chicago Med, and he did so without missing a beat.

“I actually was shooting Shrinking when I auditioned for [Chicago Med]. When I got cast, basically, I was shooting my final episode of Shrinking. And then that night I was on a red eye and I was at Gaffney Medical the very next morning shooting a surgery scene,” Kawaoka said. “So it was a really incredible turnaround.”

The actor can currently be seen on both series as two very different characters. On the Apple TV+ series Shrinking, Kawaoka plays Charlie, the boyfriend of Michael Urie’s character Brian. Meanwhile, on Chicago Med, he plays the arrogant new intern Dr. Kai Tanaka-Reed.

I recently spoke with Kawaoka about his work on each series, what we can expect from Kai in future episodes of Chicago Med, and what it felt like to work with Harrison Ford on Shrinking.

On joining the cast of Chicago Med 

Kawaoka began by sharing what it was like joining the epic One Chicago Universe and Chicago Med, which is currently in its eighth season.

“It’s incredible, first of all, to me that the amount of people that those shows reach and how touched people are and committed to those storylines,” Kawaoka said.

“These people… They’re beloved. And to actually get to meet Marlyne [Barrett] in person — everyone’s favorite Maggie —  and see her and just be as magnanimous as she appears on television, it’s just incredible. And then on top of that, to be a part of the legacy that is Dick Wolf and be a part of his universe, it’s just such a pleasure.”

That said, working on the series did pose some challenges at first, and not just because of the whirlwind of going from Shrinking to Chicago Med so quickly.

“I’ve never done a medical show before, so it was a whole thing where I needed to not only get used to the job and the people and the practice — all those first-day jitters of starting the first day of school — but then also to know how to expertly use a scalpel and to hold a suction. And luckily I’m just a first-year resident, so I don’t know everything. But still, you have to look capable and confident,” Kawaoka noted.

The actor has already learned a lot from working on the series.

“One of my favorite things about being on Chicago Med is getting to have medical rehearsals with real surgeons, and surgical nurses, and medical consultants to really learn what we are doing. Story-wise, this is very well thought out. They have to be because people are checking up on us. And it’s really fun to get to go to a crash course at med school as well as get to act every day.”

On his character, Dr. Kai Tanaka-Reed

When we were introduced to Dr. Kai Tanaka-Reed this season, it was clear right away that he was arrogant — and that his attitude could be a problem. For Kawaoka, the most surprising thing about playing that type of character on the series was the reaction from fans.

“It was shocking. I think it was more shocking than I thought it would be in the sense of how the Chicago universe and fans responded to it. There’s all these ways in which you make excuses for how you behave when you have to justify them as the actor. But then to hear people really hate on him was incredible and humbling,” Kawaoka laughed.

“I think there’s some reasons why Kai strives for perfection, why someone like him with his background would need perfection in a world that he doesn’t feel comfortable in, where he’s a little socially awkward. He doesn’t know quite how to talk to people, and he overcompensates a lot,” he continued. “There might be a moment soon where Kai needs to be knocked down a peg, or where, especially when it comes to patients, he starts to experience his humanity a little bit more — and the humanity of patients.”

“From what I know, from all the surgical nurses, people say surgeons are actually like Kai in real life,” Kawaoka said. “I mean, that’s a generalization, and I don’t want to stereotype surgeons. But there are a lot of surgeons who, surgery is their thing and their relationship to their patients is secondary. So I think Kai is actually addressing a real occurrence in the medical field.”

“I think it’s less common that you have someone like Dr. Marcel, who is so kind, and so patient. Maybe he has a little bit of an ego sometimes, but he actually understands people in a really human way. That dichotomy of the two of them being together is really fun to play with and brings a lot of drama to the series.”

On Shrinking

Meanwhile, Kawaoka plays someone much warmer on Shrinking, which comes from Brett Goldstein, Bill Lawrence, and Jason Segel. Even though it’s early in its first season, it’s a series viewers are already falling in love with. “Can you believe how lovable they all are? It’s so lovable,” Kawaoka said.

Given the sentiments of the series as well as the creators, I had to ask Kawaoka if he felt Shrinking could be the next Ted Lasso.

“I mean, that’s some pretty big shoes to fill,” he said. “I think what I love about Ted Lasso, and Bill Lawrence, and Brett Goldstein, and all those creators — and I think it comes into Shrinking too — is their commitment to radical empathy. To radical kindness. These shows are so kind, and I think in this time period where we have this climate that we do, we really need kindness, something that brings us together.”

“But also, I think this show completely exists on its own with, obviously, some very familiar faces who are making big career moves even now, and doing some fun things that we’ve never seen them do before.”

“And the cast is just epically friendly and epically lovable and kind and easy to work with. So I think the ingredients are all there for us to be doing something that’s in the vein of Ted Lasso, of course, but dealing with something that’s very real and different and special.”

On working with Harrison Ford and the rest of the cast

Shrinking boasts an incredible cast that includes Jason Segel and the legendary Harrison Ford, which made for a surreal experience for Kawaoka.

“I laughed out loud when I got cast,” he exclaimed. “I was like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ First off, I, of course, grew up on Star Wars. I just grew up on Star Wars and Harrison Ford has been a big part of my childhood — my life.”

Kawaoka then recalled what it was like first meeting Ford on set. “He was immediately cracking jokes. He was having a great time. When we were done with the scene, he walked up to me and Michael Urie, who plays my boyfriend, and said, ‘That was really beautiful,’ and just really gave us our props. And that is such a special thing coming from someone like him,” he said. “He’s just one of the best people to work with ever. He was so kind.”

“Jason Segel equally is so nice, incredibly kind, [and] very collaborative,” he continued. Kawaoka gushed over the rest of the cast as well, calling the group “comic geniuses” and marveling at being able to watch them all work. “I felt so lucky to be there.”

On his Shrinking audition and friendship with Michael Urie

Kawaoka also had a familiar face by his side when he started work on Shrinking. “I actually originally auditioned for Michael Urie’s character — for Brian,” Kawaoka revealed. “Michael and I are friends from New York City. We sort of have the same circle of friends. My best friend is his partner’s best friend, and we had actually, during the pandemic, played Mafia together over Zoom for about a year.”

“When I got the audition, I didn’t want to tell him because it’s always sort of awkward and whatever, and you want things to just sort of… I don’t know, happen naturally. So even I waited until the very last minute till I got my offer to tell him,” he said.

“It was really exciting just to have a friend on set like that. Michael is just one of the kindest people, so present in his everyday life, and to get to sit there with him and chit chat while we were waiting for them to turn the scene or whatever is just such a pleasure.”

On the relationship between Brian and Charlie

Kawaoka also hinted at what we might expect from those two characters as the season moves forward as well as how their relationship connects to the overall theme of the series.

“Brian and Charlie have a really great relationship and they’ve been together a long time,” he said.

“They have a really great life together having lots of game nights with their friends and cooking delicious meals together. And I think you’re up for some comedy in those situations, but also see a lot of love and support. This show focuses on connection between friends, family, and colleagues, and how those connections can grow inside the main premise of the thing — which is grief and making radical change to overcome grief.”

—

Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

New episodes of Shrinking stream Fridays on Apple TV+.

*Featured image credit: JJ Geiger

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!