Joshua Jackson on venturing to the (very) dark side in ‘Dr. Death’

Vancouver-born actor Joshua Jackson is known as the cut-up, the fun guy, the class clown; at least, the majority of his on-screen roles take on that persona.

It’s especially jarring, then, when you watch Jackson in Peacock/Showcase limited series Dr. Death, which chronicles the story of disgraced neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch, who was sent to prison for gross malpractice after all of his patients were left either maimed or dead.

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It’s a deeply unsettling show, replete with surgery scenes and explorations on how Duntsch became Duntsch. Jackson is stirring in the role for the aforementioned reasons, his normally warm smile exchanged for a sinister one.

Global News spoke with Jackson over Zoom about the role, and he spoke about the Canadian and U.S. health-care systems and how playing Duntsch impacted his psyche.

Watch the full interview, top.

Limited series ‘Dr. Death’ premieres on Showcase in Canada on Sept. 12 at 9 p.m. ET.