In a matter of life and death, Eddie Redmayne is not your man for CPR.
Although he had to go to nursing school to prepare for the role of caregiver on The Good Nurse, he has not mastered the CPR skill. At least not like her co-star Jessica Chastain did.
“We spent about two weeks in the classroom. And there’s no way of bonding with someone better than being reduced to being back in the classroom,” Redmayne said in an interview with EW.
“I was always useless at biology. And Jessica had a mind that was incredibly capable. I would do these exercises with these dummies that they use to practice CPR. And it would transpire that no one would have survived under my watch.”
He added: “But Jess was quite brilliant. She would turn up to nurse school early, get busy putting those IV lines into these dummies, and it took me a lot more practice. She had more of a natural instinct for it.”
The Good Nurse Inspiration
Inspired by Charles Graeber’s book The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder, The Good Nurse depicts a nurse who is also a single mother serving the night shift.
She faced life-threatening heart disease and a serial killer she caught. Already bound by her physical and mental abilities for her job, she later formulates her suspicions about her new colleague Charlie (Redmayne).
Suspicions escalated after a string of patient deaths led to an investigation. Eventually, Amy risks her life and the safety of her children to reveal the truth about Charlie. She discovers the reasons why he got away with it.
Way before Redmayne’s recruitment, Chastain was already on the list of The Good Nurse cast. However, after Redmayne got Charlie, they instantly discussed how thrilled they were to work with each other.
Read also: ‘House of the Dragon’ is About to Witness the Dance of the Dragons as Rhaenys Barge In
“It was a long journey to get it made. It was probably three years or four years from when we first spoke to when we were on set together,” Chastain revealed to EW.
“And Eddie and I talked about how hospitals are filled with incredible human beings, the surgeons and doctors, [and] nurses and paramedics, and technicians. Everyone who works there.
“I believe they are there because you have to have a calling. So, Eddie and I went to nurse school and learned all about it. We really got to work from the roots up in terms of learning how to be nurses, and that really helped bond us.”
Everything Worked So Well
Ahead of letting the two get close to any kind of IV needle, they had to initially learn the history of nursing.
“On day one, we had this incredible nurse named Joe who told us all about the history. It really was nursing school,” Chastain said.
The actress giggled as she revealed how the training was very thorough she imagined handing medical advice to people.
Later, when it was time to execute their newfound knowledge and skills, both actors found their classroom sitting paid off. The two brought Amy and Charlie’s chilling story to life.
Read also: Keke Palmer Looks Forward to the Completion of ‘Being Mortal’ Even Amid Bill Murray Complaints
Photo: Vampire Squid
