Born in Rio De Janeiro and raised in the outskirts of New York City in Astoria, Queens, actor Davi Santos has channeled his diversity into a burgeoning résumé. He’s appeared in numerous television shows including Tell Me A Story, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, Switched at Birth, Will & Grace, and more. Now you can see Santos as Dr. Joey Costa in CBS’ newest show Good Sam—a medical procedural drama in which he stars opposite Sophia Bush and Jason Isaacs.
The medical drama follows Dr. Sam Griffith (Bush), a gifted heart surgeon who excels in her new leadership role as chief of surgery after her renowned boss falls into a coma. When her boss wakes up months later demanding to resume his duties, Sam is tasked with supervising this egotistical expert who never acknowledged her stellar talent. Complicating matters, the caustic and arrogant Dr. Rob “Griff” Griffith (Isaacs) also happens to be her father.
“Dr. Joey is a die-hard, no bullshit, calling it as it is type of person,” Santos said about his character. “The large part of Joey in the first half of the season is learning how to work with his friends and learning how to call them friends as opposed to rivals. He comes to terms with what really matters and it’s about his friends, his work and his love life.”
So what does Santos hope the show conveys in its messaging to viewers?
“Sometimes what we want can also hurt us and we have to learn balance and also face our obstacles and challenges with love,” Santos said. “Sophia, who plays Sam, is facing off against her dad and the most brutal moments happen when they lose sight that they’re family when they’re really just fighting for the job. Sometimes when we lose sight of the relationship or the human behind any of our interactions, it’s really easy to go into fight mode. I think the fun and the joy of the show is when these people go into their fight modes, but the other half is also when we see how devastating it becomes when we lose sight of the person behind it. Hopefully that’s the message that people can take [away].”
(Photo by Ramona Diaconescu/CBS)
When it comes to working with Bush and his other cast mates, Santos said it’s intense camaraderie on set.
“Sophia is someone who advocates loudly for the cast and the crew,” he said. “She also loves to get down and has a great time. We all agreed to take off our Sundays to have our own reading and to talk about the script on our own time. The mood on set is really positive.”
So how did Santos get involved in show biz? According to Santos, it all started after his parents found him a performing arts school to attend.
“I was in an elementary school play and it was so much fun and my parents found a professional performing arts school in the city, which required an audition,” Santos recalled. “So I auditioned and learned what a monologue was, and put one together in two days. Before I knew it I was surrounded by kids who were on Broadway and were in movies with Angelina Jolie.”
Trading His Morpher For A Scalpel
Davi Santos cannot only be considered a hero in the operating room as Dr. Joey Costa, but he can also be considered an action hero. From 2015-16, Santos played Sir Ivan of Zandar—the 13th century knight and Gold Dino Charge Power Ranger on Power Rangers Dino Charge and Power Rangers Dino Supercharge on Nickelodeon.
He even has his own action figure to boot.
The two seasons followed the Rangers quest to track down and find 10 powerful and mysterious Energems that dated back to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Not only were the Rangers on a mission to get the Energems, but so was the evil bounty hunter Sledge and his intergalactic gang of misfits.
“There was this episode where we were enjoying ourselves at these big sand dunes surfing down on these boogie boards,” Santos said about his most memorable moment filming the show in Auckland, New Zealand. “We were rigged up on a cool open-air jeep and were driven up to the top and then back down. The cameras were on drones. It was the most fun day ever and it was bonding. I think that was the best memory of the show. Everything off camera too was such a joy to be around that city and town.”
Due to the show being filmed in New Zealand, a lot of locals on the island also had starring roles including actor Ryan Carter, who played the big bad duo Heckyl and Snide—an homage to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—in the second season.
“Since he was local, I joined up with him and we went around the island,” Santos also recalled. “Auckland is a theater town, so I was watching concerts and plays all the time. I was the only cast mate that extended his time [in New Zealand] when we finished to enjoy it more.”
If you want to watch Power Rangers Dino Charge and Dino Supercharge with your kids or grandkids, full episodes can be found on YouTube.
Good Sam is on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on CBS. Good Sam is also available on demand on Paramount+
