Thomas Elms Discusses His Character on ‘SkyMed’ [Interview]

Living in the remote northern areas of Manitoba, Canada, can provide some of the best scenery and luxury of being away from large populations. But what happens when you have an emergency?

What if you need a hospital equipped with life-saving methods and equipment? SkyMed focuses on answering that very question and tells the story of the nurses and pilots of SkyMed, who work for an air ambulance service to the residents of those secluded regions.

One of those fearless characters is Milosz Nowak, portrayed by Thomas Elms. I recently had the chance to chat with Elms about his role on SkyMed and why the series is so special to him. 

Elms’ character Nowak isn’t necessarily as charismatic as the rest of the crew on SkyMed. He doesn’t fit in with a lot of the other characters because he has to work harder to get by. Elms says this was an enticing trait to the character and something he enjoyed playing, partly because it reminded him of his ancestors.

“Both my grandparents fled Latvia during the Second World War and emigrated to Canada. And I kind of saw Nowak as my chance to kind of respect that immigrant story that my ancestors had to go through. I think he brings that sort of hardworking mentality to everything he does, and it’s really how it colors, I think, his view of the world and people.”

“He’s a cool character because I like the idea of someone who has a solid sense of duty. I find that quite inspiring, obviously, like, when it comes to dealing with people on a daily basis,” Elms continued.

Portraying Nowak also allowed Elms to play a different role than usual. “It was a chance to do a character that was a bit more of a macho badass. I imagined Nowak, when I was getting sort of in shape for the role, as kind of like soviet almost. Just rigorous martial discipline to this character.”

“He is kind of a loner,” Elms said. “He doesn’t really feel comfortable sitting down, singing songs, and roasting marshmallows with everyone. He has a hard time fitting in, and I think it’s because he doesn’t quite understand who he is as a person yet. He’s trying to carve out an identity for himself that isn’t shadowed by his family, his past, or anything like that.”

Elms also said the series came at a pivotal moment in his life after the pandemic had essentially ravaged it. “It really came in at a turning point in my life, where I felt like I was able to bring the most of myself to a role for TV that I’ve ever done before,” Elms said.

“I was going through a pretty difficult patch for the past few years during the pandemic, and the way that affected the industry and my life subsequently was a tough time for me. Mental health-wise, there were a lot of things that I was struggling with — not really having any work, money, or place to live really, and, you know, hurdles that come with that — the emotional baggage that we carry around.”

“I see Nowak as carrying around a lot of emotional baggage. I’m quite proud to watch the show now and see the beautiful work that everyone’s done and see how all these characters have come to life,” Elms said.

Of course, ensuring that technical terms are used correctly is crucial, which is why SkyMed had real pilots and nurses on set. In fact, the very pilots and nurses the characters are based on joined the cast on set to give helpful tips and make sure everything was factual.

“I was basically a complete novice when it came to any form of aircraft. Honestly, the training was a lot of fun. We rode up in the King Air a few times with the real pilots. We sat passenger and got as close as we could to the controls and observed them as best we could. We actually had some of the real-life people who inspired the characters in SkyMed there with us, consulting us with some of the nursing and some of the piloting as often as they could.”

“You’d go into the break room, and there’d be just a whiteboard with a sharpie, and it would be control panels and switches and what touches what. We’d draw a map of the whole console that you’d see in front of yourself in the plane.”

“It was cool because, by the end of it, I was pretty familiar with what the inside of a cockpit is. They recreated the interior of these planes in the studio, and they would rock and ride, and it was just so incredibly immersive. It made the acting part of it so real,” Elms said.

Elms also said by the end of the series, he had made close friends with the writers, as well as the cast.

“What was cool about the job is you never really knew what you were going to learn next; it happened every two weeks as you got the scripts. It was exhilarating to see. [The writers] teased us, and we developed a great relationship with the writing team by the end of it. You really grow together, and you learn how to collaborate well, and for me, it’s one of my favorite parts of the experience.”

—

*Featured image credit: Kyrani Kanavaros

SkyMed is available to stream on Paramount+.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!