- - “ER”’s Paul McCrane Explains How He Started Getting Typecast as a Jerk

Victoria EdelFebruary 10, 2026 at 9:08 AM

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Paul McCrane as Doctor Robert Romano in 'ER'

Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank

Paul McCrane, known for roles on ER and in RoboCop, opened up about why he’s often cast as jerks.

McCrane said that he purposefully shifted the type of roles he auditioned for — only to be typecast again

McCrane's ER character Dr. Robert Romano was notoriously unpleasant

Paul McCrane knows fans love to hate his characters — and he did that on purpose.

McCrane, who is known for roles as Dr. Robert Romano on ER and Emil Antonowsky in 1987’s RoboCop, opened up about his long career on the Feb. 9 episode of Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko.

Kmetko noted, “You made quite a career, in part, by being a dick.” McCrane, 65, agreed. Kmetko asked if that was a “choice” or “an accidental dick persona.”

“How interesting [that] you ask that,” McCrane said. He explained that he started acting young and spent his early 20s playing “what were considered sensitive parts or fragile characters.” That included his earliest breakout role as Montgomery MacNeil in the 1980’s Fame.

“I got a little tired of going up for the same kinds of roles all the time in terms of film and television,” McCrane said. He noted that when he performed in the theater, he was cast as a “variety of different kinds of things,” but in film and television, actors are quickly given a “brand” which he “used to resent.”

From left: Maura Tierney, Ming-Na Wen and Paul McCrane on 'ER'

Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank

“But by the way, as an aside, I came to realize over time this is such a frenetic, crazy business that if people remember you in anything, it's a compliment,” he said. “So that's good. That's a nice thing.”

In his 20s, however, he didn’t have that perspective yet. “I said to my reps, I don't want to go up for these roles anymore. For the fragile people. I want to go for bad guys.” They told him he was “crazy” and that it was a bad idea.

“But I started refusing auditions for the fragile, sensitive characters, and I got a couple of bad guy characters and then I got kind of stuck in that,” he said, calling it “the nature of it.”

In RoboCop, his character was a member of a villainous gang that kills police officer Alex Murphy. He ultimately melts down after he’s hit with toxic waste.

But McCrane had another character die in an even more iconic way. In 1997, he joined ER during its fourth season as Dr. Robert “Rocket” Romano, who terrorizes every other doctor in his way. Originally meant to be a one-time role, the writers kept adding him to episodes until he became a costar.

Paul McCrane in 'All Rise' in 2019

Aaron Epstein/CBS via Getty

"Somebody came up to me and said, 'I hope you treat your family better than you treat the people on ER,’ ” he told PEOPLE in 2000. “But it was all in fun. People get a kick out of what a bastard this Romano is. . . . When people recognize me, they say, 'Oh, you're soooo loathsome,' and I just smile."

Famously, in the ninth season premiere, Romano loses his arm in a helicopter accident. Then, during the tenth season, Romano dies in a second helicopter accident.

“They felt that this character had sort of run his course,” he told TV Guide in 2003 about why he was killed off. “He provided a lot of great stuff for a long time, but I guess they wanted the character to go before he overstayed his welcome — and I sure feel the same way about that.”

He admitted he was disappointed, but added, “To be honest with you, I came on the show as a guest to appear in one or two episodes. And then that became a recurring role, which I didn't expect. And then that became a regular role, which I didn't expect. And then I've had the opportunity to direct an episode. So, the unexpected opportunities I've had overwhelmingly outweigh any unexpected disappointments.”

Post-ER, McCrane has continued to work — still often playing jerks. In 2011, he won an Emmy for his guest role on Harry's Law. Beginning in 2019, he appeared on All Rise as an adversarial judge. Other recent TV shows include The Offer, The Terminal List and Barry.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”