Why Dr. George Thomas From Chicago Med Looks So Familiar

If there's one thing viewers can rely on with "Chicago Med," it's finding out about the romantic trials and tribulations of every character when they're not on the job. Indeed, there's a lot of "Chicago Med" couples, and S. Epatha Merkerson's Sharon Goodwin is not exempt from the list. As a matter of fact, Season 8, Episode 14 introduces yet another romantic interest for the executive director in the form of Dr. George Thomas. One of the frontrunners during Sharon's hunt for a new hospital board member, the two hit it off surprisingly well right from the get-go.

It's sweet to see Sharon have a little flirtatious fun, but some viewers may be more focused on the fact that George looks strangely familiar to them. That's no coincidence — his actor, Stan Shaw, is a major movie star who's been appearing in all manner of notable films since the 1970s. Not only that, but Shaw has also hopped onto some extremely popular TV shows on occasion, including one particularly notable modern procedural series.

Quite early on in his career, Stan Shaw helped make sports movie history as the part of the cast of the legendary boxing drama "Rocky" starring Sylvester Stallone. The actor portrayed Big Dipper, a fellow boxer and rival of Rocky who trains at Mighty Mick's Gym. When Rocky gets kicked out of the gym early on in the movie, Dipper essentially takes his potential spot as protégé for Micky Goldmill (Burgess Meredith). His temporary stint as the Mighty Micky hotshot doesn't last long, however, as Rocky soon returns to claim his rightful spot.

Interestingly enough, Shaw's Dipper was originally slated to have a slightly more extensive role in the original movie. In a scene that was eventually cut and lost to time, Dipper's jealousy towards Rocky boils over and the two have an actual boxing match in the ring to the settle the score. Of course, Rocky emerges victorious over Dipper, proving himself as the best of the best at Mighty Mick's. It's a shame this sequence isn't viewable anymore — it had the potential to be another great entry in the long list of iconic "Rocky" fight scenes.

Dr. George Thomas isn't the first George that Stan Shaw has played. The classic '90s movie "Fried Green Tomatoes," which chronicles the story of several residents of the fictional southern town of Whistle Stop, actually featured Shaw on the main cast as a character named Big George.

When lead character Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson) helps her partner Ruth (Mary Louise-Parker) escape her abusive marriage, the two set up a cafe in Whistle Stop and employ Idgie's family cook Sipsey (Cicely Tyson) along with her son — Shaw's Big George. George turns out to be an excellent barbecue cook, though this happy new chapter of their lives is thrown into question when Ruth's ex-husband comes looking for her and then mysteriously vanishes. George is one of the case's prime suspects, though the actual truth of what happened to the man is quite a bit more complicated. Let's just say you won't be looking at barbecue the same for a while when you find out.

Some viewers may also recognize Stan Shaw for being in part of the cast for a film that's infamous for essentially all of the wrong reasons: "Cutthroat Island." This little pirate adventure movie almost ruined Geena Davis' career because of its catastrophically bad critical reception and poor box office performance. Nevertheless, it maintains a notable spot in cinematic history as one of the biggest box office flops of all time.

For his part, Shaw played Mr. Glasspoole, a seafaring companion of Davis' protagonist Morgan Adams. Glasspoole proves to be an indispensable asset on Morgan's crew and a valuable source of help in her plight to locate a secret trove of treasure and finally defeat the villainous pirate Dawg Brown. In fact, he gets arguably one of the most entertaining kills in the entire movie, sending one nasty antagonist down to a watery grave via anchor. Hey, maybe "Cutthroat Island" isn't all bad in the end.

Not satisfied to star opposite Sylvester Stallone just once, Stan Shaw reunited with the superstar actor for another production in the form of the action-thriller film "Daylight." The film features Stallone as Kit Latura, an ex-EMS chief who attempts to save a group of people trapped inside an underwater tunnel underneath the Hudson River after a massive explosion blocks both of the main entrances.

The movie saw Shaw portraying yet another George in the form of George Tyrell, a police officer attempting to assist with the tunnel disaster who meets a pretty unfortunate fate. Before he can do much of anything at all, Tyrell gets crushed by a fallen truck. While Kit and the survivors rescue him, it becomes clear from his brutal injuries that he's not making it out of there alive. Before they have to leave him behind, George helps the group figure out what to do next and requests that Kit give a bracelet to his girlfriend Grace once they escape. Thankfully, Kit holds up his end of the bargain, making for a bittersweet moment in the film's conclusion.

As has been made clear by many of the prior entries on this list, Stan Shaw has a veritable history in film. However, that's not to say the actor hasn't made some notable appearances on the smaller screen, too. In fact, the star once made a guest appearance on an episode of the long-running sci-fi series "The X-Files," where he was caught in an exceptionally supernatural situation.

While some "The X-Files" fans gave up on Season 9, those that stuck with the show would see Shaw appear in Season 9, Episode 11, titled "Audrey Pauley," where he portrayed a hospitalized man named Stephen Murdoch. After suffering a car crash, Annabeth Gish's Agent Reyes finds herself in a strange dream-like version of a hospital along with Murdoch and several other patients. Murdoch and Reyes unearth the disturbing truth of what has happened to them, discovering that a villainous doctor at the real-life hospital where they're being treated has poisoned them. But while Reyes manages to escape the dream world and recover, Murdoch isn't so lucky.

Rounding out the list of Stan Shaw's credit highlights is yet another giant of the procedural genre. In 2016, the actor guest starred on an episode of "Criminal Minds," in which he took on an important family member role for BAU Special Agent Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler).

"Criminal Minds" Season 12, Episode 7, titled "Mirror Image," features Shaw as Albert Lewis, Tara's father. It makes sense, as the episode has a pretty heavy focus on Tara's family and backstory in general. When Tara's estranged brother Gabriel is kidnapped by a new unsub, the BAU team brings in Albert to assist with the case. The audience learns about the Lewis family's tumultuous past after the death of Tara and Gabriel's mother, and Albert particularly grapples with the choices he made in the past. Thankfully, the episode has a happy ending, as Gabriel gets rescued and finally reconciles with his dear old dad. Touching stuff.