‘Twilight’s Dr. Carlisle Cullen Isn’t Finished With His Most Morally Messy Medical Position (Unique)

For Twilight followers, Peter Facinelli will perpetually be generally known as Carlisle Cullen, the benevolent physician and head of the Cullen household. From 2008 to The Twilight Saga: Breaking Daybreak Half 2 in 2012, he was some of the distinctive vampires to ever take the display, utterly conquering his thirst for human blood and proving himself as pushed primarily by his compassion for his household and his sufferers alike. Nonetheless, whereas the actor was making the five-film saga, he was additionally busy in a really totally different medical position on the small display. Showtime counted him among the many workers of All Saints’ Hospital within the Emmy-winning darkish comedy-drama, Nurse Jackie.

Within the Edie Falco-starring hit, Facinelli was the “Golden Boy” Dr. Fitch Cooper, a petulant, deeply aggressive, and nervous emergency room physician who nonetheless managed to be a likable presence regardless of his flaws. In comparison with Carlisle, nevertheless, he confirmed a very totally different aspect to what a doctor could possibly be on-screen. Earlier than a post-con screening of the unique Twilight at Massive Lick Comedian-Con over the weekend in Roanoke, Virginia, Collider’s Maggie Lovitt held a Q&A session with Facinelli and Kellan Lutz within the Historic Grandin Theater, the place the topic of the unhinged Nurse Jackie and, particularly, how the previous juggled his roles as the 2 docs and whether or not a return as Fitch could possibly be so as, got here up. Regardless of being locked into each roles on the identical time and consistently swapping between them, he emphasised there have been by no means any moments of Fitch slipping into Carlisle or vice versa, because of the very totally different, but uniquely satisfying experiences each introduced.

“So enjoyable… I did a present referred to as Nurse Jackie, and that character’s additionally a health care provider. If you happen to haven’t seen it, he’s like, socially awkward, and he has bizarre Tourette’s, bodily Tourette’s that I gained’t get into. And he’s sort of like a 13-year-old boy in a grown man’s physique, so he’s very humorous to look at. So, I simply occurred to all the time be filming each on the identical time yearly, as a result of that’s when the schedules went, so I might go and shoot like two weeks in Vancouver doing Twilight, after which they’d let me out to go do Nurse Jackie for per week or two. And I’d be flying backwards and forwards, and other people could be like ‘Don’t you get the characters combined up or the strains?’ and I’d say no, as a result of they’re so totally different. So for me, as an actor, it’s one of the best time of my life, as a result of I’ve these two nice jobs the place I’m enjoying these two reverse docsand one is in a critically acclaimed present and one is like in a franchise that’s doing rather well. So, each time I used to be on an airplane — I felt like I lived on American Airways as a result of I used to be simply all the time on an airplane.”

Peter Facinelli Says ‘Nurse Jackie’ and ‘Twilight’ Present Docs Are Extra Than Their Jobs

Entering into the sneakers of two docs who have been worlds aside in so some ways on the identical time happy Facinelli as an actor. Funnily sufficient, Carlisle, regardless of being an immortal creature of the night time, proved to be the extra picturesque picture of a superb medical skilled combating to avoid wasting lives and treating his job with the utmost care when in comparison with Fitch, who wasn’t all the time probably the most thorough. But, each happy vastly totally different wants of their respective tales and have become fan favorites in their very own methods. Every additionally bought loads of runway to evolve, with Fitch sticking round at All Saints’ for elements of all seven seasons of Nurse Jackie by 2015.

Facinelli believes that, in taking up each Twilight and Nurse Jackie collectively, he demonstrated that on-screen docs cannot be stereotyped. Whereas he is aware of many followers have an assumption of what characters in these professions needs to be of their heads, he says actors and writers must deal with the particular person first, and never their line of labor. Docs might be renegades, like Homecompassionate goofballs, like Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*Hor full messes like The Simpsons‘ cheery Dr. Nick Riviera, and a lot extra that their job would not essentially outline.

“However, like, as an actor, to have two implausible jobs and have collectively docs who could possibly be utterly totally different and so enjoyable to shoot. And it reveals you that folks typically assume that docs are a sure manner, and they also’re like ‘Oh, you play loads of physician roles, you should be such a particular person,’ but it surely’s not the occupation you play. It’s the particular person within the occupation you play. So, like, a fireman might be loads of totally different individuals, a police officer could possibly be utterly… so loads of occasions, early on, if you happen to’re a younger actor, you’re like ‘Oh, docs act like this, attorneys act like this, plumbers act like this!’ It’s not, it’s simply their job to do, so you discover the particular person and the character throughout the occupation.”

Facinelli Would Gladly Return for a ‘Nurse Jackie’ Reboot

Lastly, Lovitt requested in a follow-up about what Facinelli knew concerning the Nurse Jackie reboot. Information broke again in 2023 that the medical dramedy and fellow Showtime darling Weeds have been being eyed for reboots that will convey again each Falco as Jackie Payton and Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin. Regardless of altering palms to Prime Video and seemingly gaining momentum, nevertheless, Falco revealed final 12 months that nothing concrete was in place and, to this point, Nurse Jackie was simply discuss. A narrative concept following Jackie’s makes an attempt to remain on the straight and slim after shedding her nursing license, with Liz Flahive and Abe Sylvia writing, was stated to be in placealthough, and Falco hasn’t been keen to surrender on the likelihood that one thing might finally occur.

“I heard one thing about it!” Facinelli confirmed earlier than assuring that he’d be all-in if he was ever requested to come back again. “Nobody ever reached out to me, so possibly they’re doing it with out me. (Laughs) No, I don’t assume they ever did it, however I might like to once more revisit the half, too.” He sees any probability to get to reprise a long-time position as sacred, as a result of, as soon as it is over, he is aware of all too effectively the sting of claiming goodbye to a personality for good. Which may be the one factor each Fitch and Carlisle have in frequent — each have been big elements of his life that left him with a way of loss after they have been over.

“The unhappy half is, you play these roles, then, when the job is over, that character sort of dies. I truthfully undergo a interval, I don’t know if you happen to do, however there’s like a three-to-four-day, generally longer interval the place you sort of really feel unhappy as a result of this particular person that you just’re enjoying not exists. And you may see them and watch them on a display, however they’re not a part of you, they usually don’t belong to you; they belong to an viewers. So it’s simply, whenever you’re completed with a personality, you positively really feel a way of loss. Yeah, so having the ability to revisit that’s all the time unimaginable. I imply, I did Nurse Jackie for seven years, and I used to be capable of revisit that character time and again, and it could develop with me, and identical with Twilight. It was a five-six-year interval the place we bought to all come collectively on a regular basis.”

Nurse Jackie is at the moment streaming on Netflix. Keep tuned right here at Collider for extra from Massive Lick Comedian-Con.