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AUGUST 2015 JB Hi-Fi
M edical practitioners
with drug habits are
nothing new – Hugh
Laurie’s Doctor Gregory
House and Edie Falco’s Nurse
Jackie are probably the most
recent examples of screen
hospital professionals who get
hooked on their own tools of
the trade.
But Doctor John Thackery,
as played by Clive Owen
in Steven Soderbergh’s
acclaimed new medical
drama The Knick, takes bad
behaviour to a whole new
level. Set in downtown
New York in 1900, the show
centres on the Knickerbocker
Hospital, whose staff
are pushing the boundaries of medicine
in a time of astonishingly high mortality
rates and zero antibiotics.
Like House, Thackery is a brilliant but arrogant
surgeon, whose maverick ways alienate his
colleagues. But whereas Laurie’s character had
an addiction to painkillers, Thackeray is a full-
blown cocaine junkie who likes to wind
down in opium dens.
For Owen, the contradictions of the character
were one the main attractions of the role. “He
is at the forefront of medicine and he is making
big new discoveries but at the same time he is
a serious drug addict,” the British star explains.
“The guy is literally on a rollercoaster the entire
time; I inject throughout the day and then I
often go off to the opium den to chill out in the
evenings. The fun in playing someone like this is
sorting out where he is in his drug-filled day. Is
he high? Does he need a fix? How intense
is the addiction at this point? It’s exciting to
plot through the ups and downs – there is
never a straight scene with him, because he
is not straight ever!”
Thackery’s drug of choice is liquid cocaine,
which was actually legal at the time and, for a
doctor, easy to get hold of. However, as the first
season of the show progresses, he eventually
realises that his addiction is beginning to spiral
out of control and tries to kick the habit.
As well as the drug taking,
unlike modern hospital dramas,
The Knick also features some
harrowing, blood-drenched
scenes of surgical procedures,
many of which are carried
out in front of an audience.
According to Owen, operations
at the time were almost
performed like theatre, so there
was a touch of the showman
about doctors of the era.
“It is a time that is hugely
exciting,” Owen continues.
“They made massive leaps
forward in a very short amount
of time. The boundaries were
constantly being pushed and
Thackeray is at the forefront of
all that.” Owen admits he hadn’t been looking
to take on a television role before getting a call
from Soderbergh, who as well as serving as
executive producer, directed every episode of
the first season of The Knick. However after
reading the script he had no hesitation about
signing on and will also be back for the second
season, which will air later this year.
He is also full of praise for the modern
approach Soderbergh brought to the period
drama. “The world Steven has created is such
an original take and is all based on fact,” he
says. “It doesn’t have the polish and restraint of
a normal period thing. It’s very, very edgy.
Very often when you do period
things, they will say ‘This is
how they wore their hats.’
But I am a drug addict, so I
don’t necessarily conform
to those rules.”
Thackery is a brilliant but
arrogant surgeon, whose
maverick ways alienate
his colleagues
STRONG MEDICINE
Clive Owen on why The Knick is not your typical medical drama.
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