Mandy Moore and Edgar Ramirez star in Season 2 of “Dr. Death,” premiering Dec. 21 on Peacock.
The eight-episode series, based on former NBC producer Betina Alexander’s (Moore) popular Wondery podcast, tracks her soured romantic relationship with renowned thoracic surgeon Dr. Paolo Macchiarini (Ramirez), who developed a seemingly revolutionary trachea implant used around the world.
The charming, suave, smooth-talking Macchiarini was eventually unmasked by Alexander (and others, in Sweden) as a narcissistic, gaslighting, scientific fraud whose tracheal surgeries killed at least three people, all of whom suffered while he gallivanted around the world leading a double (or triple) life — and promising Alexander the moon and the stars including their being married by his “good friend” … wait for it … Pope Francis.
In 2023, he was sentenced by a Swedish court to two-and-a-half years in prison.
The series co-stars Luke Kirby, Gustaf Hammarsten and Ashley Madekwe.
Moore (“This Is Us”) and Ramirez (“The Assassination of Giannie Versace: American Crime Story”) spoke to The Post about “Dr. Death” — and their roles in the searing drama of betrayal and evil.
Was it difficult playing such a multifaceted character like Paolo?
Ramirez: There was no real contradiction for me because he does not see himself as evil. He was operating, no pun intended, from a positive standpoint. He was convinced everything he was doing was best for his patients, for science, for the greater good and for the people around him, especially Benita. He projects lies and deceit to the world but he’s living an internal fantasy. He never holds himself accountable for anything that might have damaged other people — and that is chilling and frightening. It was interesting for me to play a character that committed such crimes and inflicted such damage — but there was never [in Macchiarini] a sense of doing anything evil. This guy knew how to identify the unfinished stories of people he was targeting — it was a challenge for him.
How would you describe Betina?
Moore: The surprising thing is that she’s so incredibly smart and capable in her field and at the top of her game. The fact that this can happen to anybody … and whatever vulnerabilities were evident at this juncture of her life that Paolo saw and exploited is a whole different story. She somehow put her blinders up in this particular situation — we’re talking about a really impressive guy like Paolo, a world-renowned surgeon saving lives and telling her he’s in a secret society that performs surgeries on diplomats and dignitaries … it’s the idea that these seeds are planted [by Paolo] so slowly and effortlessly over a couple of years. That’s how these pathological gaslighters and narcissists operate — it’s not something that happens overnight. That would be way too obvious.
Did you do much research into the case?
Ramirez: I’m a journalist myself — it’s what I did before I was an actor, and I love to research. It’s always been a huge part of my acting process. But, for the first time, I chose not to do so much research into this guy. First and foremost, the script was so compelling and had all the elements already there so it was easy for us actors to let ourselves be guided by what was written. I did feel that in doing too much research … I thought I would risk judging my character so I tried to keep it very tight. I watched some documentaries and read documentation available on Paolo but at some point during the process I felt I needed to close this and just have my own experiences. Betrayal is something that is against my values, it’s very strong for me, so I just preferred to now know too much about him. This is a different kind of darkness.
Was there one particular scene that resonated with you?
Moore: I don’t want to give too much away, but it comes to a head halfway through the season when Benita finally gets hip to who Paolo really is and does something about it. That particular episode feels so powerful for her to be able to admit to herself that she had been deceived — and the unraveling of her life — and how she has to process what’s next.
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