One year after FOX’s cancellation The resident After its six seasons, star Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Dr. AJ Austin on the medical drama, is once again dressing up as a doctor.
Instead of reprising his role as Chastain Park Memorial Hospital’s star cardiothoracic surgeon, the 53-year-old actor guest stars on the ABC show. 9-1-1 as Amir, a burn unit nurse with an unexpected connection to Bobby’s (Peter Krause) past.
Although Warner is on a new show and a new network, in many ways, he feels right at home on the hit First Aid procedural. After roles in American horror story and American crime historyWarner is no stranger to the Ryan Murphy verse. 9-1-1 marks the fourth time he has performed in front of the brilliant Angela Bassett. And she already loved Peter Krause for his starring role as Nate Fisher in six feet under.
“I was a huge six feet below fan. So spending so much time with Peter was really exciting,” Warner told Jugo Mobile via Zoom. “Just getting to work with Angela and Peter… and being able to play a role that takes me a little bit out of my comfort zone, was a really cool experience.”
In season 7, episode 8, “Step Nine,” viewers discover that the scars on Amir’s face are from burns suffered in the tragic fire that Bobby accidentally started at his apartment building in Minnesota. The 2014 fire killed 148 people, including his wife and two children, as well as Amir’s wife. After learning that the fire forever altered Amir’s world, Bobby sets out to make amends, confronting his childhood trauma and encountering another life-or-death situation (or four!) along the way.
Midway through Warner’s Season 7 four-episode recurring arc, the actor spoke to Jugo Mobile about his new 9-1-1 character, his intense scenes with (fellow Leo) Peter Krause, his thoughts on revisiting The residentand more.
Before we pe into this episode, I was excited to hear you were joining. 9-1-1 because I am an unconditional fan of The resident. As 9-1-1 showed us, a program can be canceled and come back even stronger, and The resident has been dominating streaming viewership charts since added to Netflix. If the series were to find another home in the future, is that something you’d be willing to revisit?
I think one of the best things about that show is how much we loved and still love each other as a cast. I think we would all jump at the opportunity to be able to work together again. Mate [Czuchry] I was here last night. We were hanging out last night. And I just saw Bruce [Greenwood] A couple of weeks ago. We all really like each other. So I think if we had the chance to work together again, we’d be like, “Yeah, man!”
That makes me very happy. The reals also know that this is not Ryan Murphy’s first rodeo and that he has already had the pleasure of starring alongside the great Angela Bassett. What was it like returning to the Murphy-verse, not only on a new show, but also one with Angela?
I love it. The real ones. [Laughs] It’s great, because this is the fourth time I’ve worked with Angela. She did Cosby. We did an episode of Duty shift together like in ’85 or ’86. And then American horror story. So I have more and more time in front of the camera. [with her], which is always great. And I also walked in and it was a huge six feet under fan. So the fact that, she knew it was going to happen, spending so much time with Peter, was also really exciting. Just getting to work with Angela and Peter, being able to experience prosthetics and being able to play a role that takes me a little bit out of my comfort zone, was a really cool experience.
In tonight’s episode we learned about Amir’s direct ties to Bobby’s past. How familiar were you with Bobby’s backstory when he filmed these scenes? Did you watch those apartment fire flashback episodes to prepare yourself?
Oh yes, definitely. Definitely. I had a lot of conversations with Tim Minear and watched a lot of episodes to, number one, get a tone and a feel for the tone of the show, but also to really lean into Bobby’s backstory. So when I walked in, that story was still very fresh in my mind. Because I had just watched those particular episodes, that feeling that Amir has, those flashes of reliving that experience, it was really fresh in my mind and in my body.
The deep understanding of those emotions and his pain really translated on screen. This episode was also deeply compelling, in large part, because of your one-on-one scenes with Peter. I love knowing that you are a fan of his. What was it like working so closely with him on this episode while also establishing such a complex emotional dynamic between your characters?
It was great for us in the sense that the filming conditions were very uncomfortable. We were there for about five days and the weather in the morning was very cold. There were days when it was hot, sunny, windy and sandy… And since there was a lot of discomfort in the filming conditions, it was a great bonding moment for Peter and I as actors. One thing we talked about was gratitude: being able to have an episode where we have things we can sink our teeth into, so to speak. So I think all the things we went through off camera really helped inform the dance we had to do on camera.
We know you’re here for four episodes. Tim Minear said that you have a pivotal role in the final episodes of season 7. What can you say about Amir’s journey in these last two episodes?
Amir is forced to deal head-on with some of this resentment and anger that he realizes he hasn’t fully suppressed, and [those emotions] resurface so you actually have to deal with them head on. I think that as much as the public likes Amir, there may be a change in his opinion: “I don’t know if I like him that much.”
I was rooting for everyone to love him. I thought if he was alive and well at the end of the season he might stop being a travel nurse and stay on the show forever, but we’ll see what happens! In a recent interview with Extra, Angela Bassett teased what’s to come in season 7 using the words “biblical” and “fire.” Do you have anything to add to that?
[Laughs] I think she said nothing.
When we say “fire,” do we have memories of Amir in the Minnesota fire? Or will we have a new fire? I’m worried.
Oh. Hmm… [Laughs] I don’t know if I have the freedom to say it.
Well, you have to share a scene with Jennifer Love Hewitt in your first episode. Can we expect Amir to deliver on any other core? 9-1-1 characters in the future?
The good thing is that there will be a season 8, so there are always opportunities.
Oh interesting. Season 8 Amir! I also interviewed Oliver Stark a few weeks ago and he was very excited to have you join the cast. He said that he hoped to work with you on episode 9 or 10, but if not, he just wanted to meet you. So I hope his dream comes true.
[Laughs] Yes, we have to meet. It is funny. We met in the hair and makeup trailer while I was getting my prosthetics fitted.
I love that for him. Before we finish, are there any favorite memories from his time in the 9-1-1 Outfit you would like to share with us?
One of the things that, whether I return to the show or not, I will always have with me is how much Peter and I laughed. We are both Leos. We both have a very left-wing sense of humor. One day I was in the makeup trailer and as we were going through the process of removing my makeup, music was playing and there was a song that I really liked. I thought, “That’s a great song. Who’s that?” And they’re like, “That’s Justin Bieber.” I was like, “Oh my God.” And then with another song I was like, “Hey, I liked that song. Who’s that?” They say, “Taylor Swift!” [Laughs] So every time Peter sees me, he calls me Swifty Belieber.
Oh Lord. That’s so nice. [Laughs] Thank you very much for that gift.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
new episodes of 9-1-1 It airs Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET on ABC and airs the next day on Hulu.
