This “Gifted” Penn Alum schools actor Patrick Wilson

Over the past couple of years, Doctor Zach Lutsky (C’97) appeared on the Dr. Oz show, was the medical consultant for “Miami Medical” and “ER“, and even had an acting cameo on a TV show.

Recently, Zach has been working on the new CBS show “A Gifted Man” (debuts tonight at 8 pm) as the head Medical Consultant.

After the jump learn how Zach was able to secure this position through “an amazing twist of fate” and find out what it has been like working with actor Patrick Wilson!

Zach tell me how being in the right place at the right time helped him landed this job:

“I am excited to be working on it as the head Medical Consultant but have this position through an amazing twist of fate.

One day while doing a shift in the emergency room, I picked up the chart of a new patient to go examine and saw the name Neal Baer. I knew the name from my time working on “ER” but had never met him in person. Neal was one of the original doctor/writers on “ER” and left around season 7 after becoming an executive producer of the show.  He went on to spend 11 seasons as the executive producer of “Law and Order: SVU.”

After I met him that day in the ER (and took care of him as my patient), he took my information and said he would keep me in mind if he was ever working on a medical show again, though at that time he was still in charge of “Law and Order: SVU.”  Just a few weeks later he left that show and got hired as the showrunner/executive producer on a “A Gifted Man” and gave me a call. Had a I not happened to pick him up as a patient that day, I would not be working on the show today. Plus, it is great working as a medical consultant for an executive producer who is also an MD.

I thought your readers would think it interesting that I am on the show now not because any of my past TV work or connections but because I got very lucky in the real ER one day.” 

On working with Patrick Wilson:

“Working with Patrick Wilson has been great! He is a phenomenal actor and is very enthusiastic about learning the medicine and procedures in each episode.”

More Penn alumni working on CBS shows

More Penn alumni working in TV HERE

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• TV writing
• A Successful screenwriting career not living in LA?
• Advice from a panel of Penn Hollywood alumni who’ve made it (videos)
• THE PENN MAFIA and getting a job in Hollywood (from this recent grad’s perspective)

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• A Gifted Man
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