Josh Lawson Reveals the St. Denis Medical Cast Member Who Cracks Him Up The Most
Lawson fesses up about which of St. Denis Medical co-stars cracks him up the most.
While the staff of nurses and doctors on NBC’s newest comedy, St. Denis Medical, are taking a break from their hospital hijinks for the holidays — all-new episodes return on January 14, 2025 — NBC Insider figured it's the perfect time to check in with actor Josh Lawson.
Each week on the 'mockumentary' the native Australian actor enthusiastically embodies Dr. Bruce, the overly-confident yet needy trauma surgeon at St. Denis Medical. A collection of brash extremes poured into scrubs, Lawson has already made Bruce a standout in the ensemble comedy.
With the St. Denis Medical cast featuring an incredible lineup of comedians, including Allison Tolman, David Alan Grier, and Wendi McLendon-Covey, we had to ask Lawson if any of them make him laugh the most?
Physical comedy is what hits Josh Lawson's funny bone
While Lawson said his whole cast is an embarrassment of comedy riches on any given day, he said the work of Mekki Leeper, who plays Matt the very accident prone, newbie nurse, is always grabbing his attention.
"I really love watching Mekki prepare his physical comedy," Lawson said with admiration. "I'm a big fan of physical comedy. I love it! Old school, vaudeville stuff. I do think it's a bit of a dying art form, partly because a lot of people can't do it."
Lawson cited comedian Rowan Atkinson's work as Mr. Bean as one of his favorite examples of modern physical comedies. Continuing in that tradition, Lawson said he is delighted to watch Leeper walk onto a set and visually work out what he's going to get caught up in, such as a set of blinds or a prop.
"It's like science, right?" Lawson offered. "I really love watching that and then being surprised with how that becomes a set piece. I just enjoy that process so much, and I'm so glad that someone like Mekki is keeping alive the very special art form of physical comedy."
Of course, Lawson adds his own physicality to Bruce and he promises when the new episodes return in January, that Bruce will get his own time to shine.
"I know the question on everyone's lips is, Can Bruce dance?" Lawson posed with a smile. "I think it's a great question, and I think you will have that answer in time, and boy will you have it."
Catch new episodes of St. Denis Medical when they premiere on Tuesday on NBC at 8/7c. Episodes are available to stream on Peacock the next day.
