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Chicago Med season 3’s best guest stars

By Brittany Frederick

CHICAGO MED -- "On Shaky Ground" Episode 309 -- Pictured: (l-r) Norma Kuhling as Dr. Ava Bekker, Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Jaffrey, Colin Donnell as Dr. Connor Rhodes -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
CHICAGO MED -- "On Shaky Ground" Episode 309 -- Pictured: (l-r) Norma Kuhling as Dr. Ava Bekker, Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Jaffrey, Colin Donnell as Dr. Connor Rhodes -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC) /
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Chicago Med season 3 featured a number of excellent guests coming into Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. We rank Chicago Med’s best guest stars of the season.

The stars of Chicago Med can’t do it alone. Every episode is populated by guest stars who come in and liven up the case of the week—whether it’s playing patients, patients’ loved ones, or doctors. They’re the folks who flesh out the universe.

Chicago Med season 3 didn’t have as many guest stars and recurring guests as the previous season did, while plotlines focused on the goings-on between our regular doctors and nurses, but it still found time to fit in a couple of notable visitors to the hospital.

This post is dedicated to those people. Today, we’re sending up a few notes of appreciation to the folks who visited One Chicago and turned in some great performances while they were here.

Here are our picks for the best guests in Chicago Med season 3:

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3. Malcolm McDowell

It was a coup for Chicago Med to cast Malcolm McDowell in the episode “On Shaky Ground”, where he played Dr. Ava Bekker’s (Norma Kuhling) mentor.

His character, though, left a lot to be desired as he showed up at the hospital looking for Ava’s help only to criticize her—leaving her in tears and prompting Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell) to jump to her defense for what wouldn’t be the first time during the season.

As much as we were happy to see the back of his character, it was great to see Malcolm McDowell visit and play off our series regulars. He’s an acting legend and it was worth watching the episode just to see what he would do. Much like Gary Cole, our dislike of his character didn’t stop us from enjoying his acting talent.

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2. Arden Cho

Fans got some more insight into Dr. Ethan Choi’s (Brian Tee) family this season, when his adopted and estranged sister Emily (Arden Cho) recurred for several episodes. Like with McDowell’s role, it allowed us to get additional perspective on one of our main characters.

But the Emily storyline was both encouraging and heartbreaking to watch unfold. It seemed like it had a reconciliation in the cards for Emily and Ethan; he was skeptical about her at first, but after some time and encouragement from April Sexton (Yaya DaCosta), he came around. Emily even had a job working at the hospital, and it was interesting to see Ethan as a brother, not just a boyfriend or a doctor.

Arden Cho played Emily in a way where you were sympathetic toward her, but where it also wasn’t entirely surprising when it turned out that she had been dishonest. She wasn’t overly fake or over the top; you just felt disappointed with her, which was exactly how Ethan felt, too.

1. Jay O. Sanders

Jay O. Sanders only appeared in “Down By Law” but that was enough to make the top of our list. If you’ve seen any of his work, you know he’s one of the great character actors in TV and film. He has a recent knack for going to some uncomfortable places, like his role on NBC‘s Blindspot which saw him admit to killing his son’s childhood friend.

He was equally uncomfortable on Chicago Med, too, playing a man whom doctors originally thought was a patient’s father only to find out that he was her much older husband. His belief that he was absolutely right, matched up against Dr. Natalie Manning’s (Torrey DeVitto) own fierce convictions, made for wonderful drama.

Sanders’ performance was uncomfortable but not unwatchable; we hated what his character was doing, but it was also worth it to see him engaged in a battle with Natalie, who’s so passionate that sometimes she overpowers other characters. The two were evenly matched and both seemed to up each other’s game, making Jay O. Sanders a wonderful addition to our show and our favorite guest star of the season.

Next: Chicago Med season 3's best episodes, ranked

Who were your favorite guest performers from the latest Chicago Med season? Let us know which guest stars stood out to you in the comments.

Chicago Med returns to NBC on Sept. 26.

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