Good Sam's Davi Santos Talks Joining the Cast and His Career So Far

Davi Santos had been waiting to put on the scrubs to portray Dr. Joey Costa for about two years when the show premiered earlier this month. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CBS medical drama Good Sam was pushed back about a year.

Santos was up for the part back in 2020, when he jumped into a producer session for the series. "It was honestly one of the least stressful appointments I've ever had for a series," he tells The Advocate.

Then COVID happened. He was initially offered the part in 2020, but it took another year to finalize everything with the pandemic in full swing. Finally, last year, the show shot the pilot.

"I didn't know if the show was gonna go. I didn't know if I was gonna go. I didn't know if the character would exist," he explains. "And lo and behold..."

Good Sam focuses on the dichotomy between young, progressive heart surgeon Dr. Sam Griffith (Sophia Bush), who becomes the top surgeon at a hospital in Michigan after her father, Dr. Rob "Griff" Griffith (Jason Isaacs), falls into a coma. Her father wakes up and wants to get back to his job, but he's now under the supervision of his daughter.

"It seems like there's this subtle reflection of the two sides amongst the residents, even though it doesn't seem like anyone is really rooting for Griff to stick around that much," Santos says. "Joey kind of has these elements that resonate with Griff's."

For one, Santos says his character is "extraordinarily dedicated, almost to a fault." Joey is the one who carries a book around with him the entire time, soaking up as much information and knowledge as possible.

"It comes out that he's almost aggressive to be the best," Santos says. "Griff in the first episode says that this isn't a drum circle. This is a competition to see who's sort of the best surgeon, and Joey is one of the only residents to really take that to heart."

That dedication and that commitment become a character flaw, Santos shares. Joey has to learn that he needs to work with his team. "He just wants to be the chosen one."

Santos, who identifies with the LGBTQ+ community, was born in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and was raised in Astoria, in the Queens borough of New York City. As a child he went to a performing art school in Manhattan. Santos said he was inspired by his fellow students who didn't wait until after college to pursue acting.

Santos appeared in print ads and commercials for the paycheck, he says, but he would do theater to hone his craft and gain acting experience.

While his most recent role is a doctor, Santos has appeared in Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, the limited series opposite Edie Falco, Chasing Life, Mystery Girls, Switched at Birth, Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23, and as the "Twenty-Something" on Will & Grace. He's also known for his role in Power Rangers as Sir Ivan of Zandar, the Gold Ranger.

From slipping on the ranger spandex to dawning the stethoscope, Santos says he's learned that if your soul isn't in the role, you're not going to get a very valuable experience. Santos perhaps approaches his craft differently than some actors, since not only does he have a wealth of training in acting, but he also seems to have a different way of analyzing his field due to creating his undergrad degree in cognitive philosophy and theater.

"We have to look at ourselves because there's a lot of conflicts and obstacles in ourselves that only when we look at them and deal with them, we're able to grow as human beings and things start to happen in our lives," Santos says. "And when we're able to align that with the narratives that we [as actors] play on-screen, things happen to not only our lives but our performances. I'm still doing that today and trying to always go deeper and fuse it all together."

Santos says he's already learned a lot from playing Joey, especially when it comes to being a committed person and the various ways that can manifest in one's life. Santos says that Joey's character also represents a lot of the lessons taught in Good Sam.

"Are we going to find a way to build bridges? Are we going to be dynamiting [them]?" Santas asks. "Because at the end of the day...we're only able to move forward together."

Audiences will get to know more about Dr. Joey Costa and his story in the coming episodes of Good Sam, which you can watch tonight at 10 Eastern/Pacfic on CBS.