Why Quentin Bell From Chicago Med Looks So Familiar

"Chicago Med" has featured some downright gruesome medical incidents in its time, but few of them have managed to make for as nail-biting an hour of TV as the case of Quentin Bell. Appearing as one of the typical patients-of-the-week in Season 8, Episode 16, Quentin is rushed to the hospital after he suffers a psychotic break coinciding with the birth of his first child, leading him to stab himself in the neck with a pair of scissors. It's absolutely stomach-churning stuff and makes for some new entries in the canon of the most intense "Chicago Med" scenes.

It may be tough to watch for fans as the "Chicago Med" team tries their hardest against nearly insurmountable odds to save Quentin's life, but that's why it comes as such a massive rush of relief when they pull off the operation and the father ultimately survives. However, some viewers may have spent less time watching through their fingers and more time pondering why Quentin appears to look so familiar to them. In truth, the actor behind the guest character, Adam Stephenson, has appeared in quite a few notable movies and TV shows, including another major medical drama.

It's possible that some viewers may primarily recognize Adam Stephenson from his role in "The Purge" — not the 2013 movie, that is, but the now-cancelled "Purge" TV series which aired for two seasons on USA Network. Taking on a semi-anthological format to tell various stories of different people affected by Purge nights in a not-too-distant alternate future, the show's sizable cast list included Stephenson in a recurring role throughout its first season.

Stephenson primarily plays into the section of the show's story devoted to Amanda Warren's Jane Barbour, a finance worker who resorts to some unsavory Purge-sanctioned methods to advance her standing within her own company. For several episodes, Stephenson portrays Mark Cantoff, one of Jane's co-workers who is similarly minded about using The Purge to get what he wants. Things don't end up working out too well for Mark, however, as he eventually falls prey to the disturbing machinations of another co-worker, Alison (Jessica Miesel). 

After his turn on "The Purge," Adam Stephenson kept his crime-drama streak going with yet another recurring role on AT&T's original series "Mr. Mercedes." Specifically, the actor appeared in the hospital-centered plot line across the Stephen King adaptation's second season. Rather than being a patient like on "Chicago Med," however, this series instead sees the actor playing the part of a medical professional.

Stephenson rounds out the season's cast as Jonathan Pettimore, one of the officials at the hospital where the psychopathic Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadaway) is being treated after falling into a coma at the end of the first season. His firm stance on having the killer transferred to a different facility puts him at odds with Felix Babineau (Jack Huston), who spends much of time doing all sorts of strange and unethical experiments on Brady. Through quite a few twists and turns, neither Pettimore nor Babineau end up being able to expect what becomes of their odd patient by the end of the season. "Mr. Mercedes" ended up getting renewed for Season 3 in the time after, but Stephenson's character didn't return for the show's final chapter.

It seems Adam Stephenson just can't manage to stay away from great medical shows. Before his appearance as a patient on "Chicago Med" and not long after his turn as a neurosurgeon on "Mr. Mercedes," the actor guest starred in an episode of the procedural drama "The Resident." Nevertheless, this small appearance stands out as decidedly more uplifting than those other shows.

In "The Resident" Season 3, Episode 8, titled "Peking Duck Day," Stephenson appears as Anthony Peterson. Anthony is a neighbor of Matt Czuchry's Conrad Hawkins, and that casual connection comes in clutch when a family emergency leads the man to ask the chief resident for help. Anthony's son Tommy isn't feeling very well, and the group rushes him to the hospital along with his dad and brother. It's pretty tense stuff — as "The Resident" often tends to get when children are the ones in the operating room — but everything turns out okay and Peterson leaves with his family intact.

Beyond the list of highlights explored above, Adam Stephenson has made minor appearances in a bunch of other notable TV shows, as well as a handful of notable movies. On the cinematic front, he's had small roles in productions like the 2017 notorious box office flop "Geostorm," the 2022 Will Smith vehicle "Emancipation," and the 2023 Netflix comedy "We Have a Ghost." As for other TV ventures, Stephenson has popped up in episodes of Donald Glover's "Atlanta," the hit Netflix drama "13 Reasons Why," the procedural spin-off "NCIS: New Orleans," and the Amazon Freevee original "Leverage: Redemption."

Between credits in household name franchises like "The Purge" and "NCIS," Stephenson has quietly built an impressive resume across his acting career. The actor is sure to continue appearing all over the map of the TV and film realms, but it remains to be seen whether audiences might see him in a leading role for a future production.