Brilliant Minds Post Mortem: Alex MacNicoll Talks Van’s Mirror Touch Synthesisia, Love Triangle with Ericka & Jacob

Dr. Van Markus recently learned that he has Mirror Touch Synthesisia, which allows him to connect with and feel patients’ feelings.

While he typically considered it a curse, he connected with John Doe in Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 5, and he, Dana, and Dr. Wolf were able to experiment and find a way to communicate with their patient.

We could also see the burden lifted from Van once Dana and the other interns learned about his condition.

TV Fanatic enjoyed chatting with Alex MacNicoll about Van’s Mirror Touch Synthesis, the love triangle between Van, Ericka, and Jacob, and what he’s learned from working at Brilliant Minds.

Check out the interview below.

Were you familiar with Mirror Touch Synthesisia before, and how did you prepare to play someone who battles it?

I wasn’t entirely familiar with Mirror Touch Synthesisia. Fortunately, since it’s so rare, there’s not much out there. But fortunately for us, there is one particular doctor who has it, and he’s been very open and sharing his experience.

He’s given many talks and written papers, so I gathered research about his experience and applied it to my own.

Since medicine is about saving lives, why does Van see this condition as a curse?

I think Van considers it a curse because it hinders him initially, especially before he’s aware of his condition. He’s not able to perform straightforward procedures or things when someone is in pain right in front of him and struggling.

It’s one of those things where it’s like, if somebody faints when they see blood, they probably shouldn’t be a surgeon kind of thing, you know? It’s challenging for him, and he is unaware of it.

That makes sense. Why do you think Van connected so much with John Doe and figured out a way to communicate with him?

Since John Doe can’t communicate verbally, he questions how they will communicate with this person. Van can tune in to feelings and pain that are going on that are not necessarily talked about or verbalized.

 I think that’s how he could tap into that and trust his intuition when, in the past, he’s felt something come up that just causes him to break down, shy away, or try to run away from the problem.

He leaned into it this time, trusted his gut feeling that something was happening, and experimented.

It’s enjoyable because he, Dana, and Doctor Wolf experience trial and error with this patient, who can verbalize what they’re going through.

Yes, I liked that. Why did Van confide in Dana first over the other interns?

Good question. Ericka would be challenging because there’s a bit of a crush there. He’s a little shy about approaching Ericka with any of that.

Then, he and Jacob have a slight rivalry there. So, he won’t go to this faux enemy.

 Dana was just neutral, like Switzerland. I think he thought if he was going to talk to anybody about it, maybe he could tell Dana, and she wouldn’t use it against me or alter our future relationship badly.

Are you enjoying the vibe between the interns?

 Yeah, absolutely. It’s a lot of fun. I hope it translates on screen because we had a blast.

You mentioned Van having a crush on Ericka. In this episode, Van says he doesn’t have time to date. Are we going to see anything transform between him and Ericka?

I think there’s a possibility there. It’s one of those things that lurks, and I hope it turns into something.

Lately, Jacob and Erica also seemed like a little love triangle.

Yeah, for sure. It creates this exciting drama with this love triangle and adds some spices to the pot.

So, do you know how soon we may see something turn the tide?

Their relationship starts blossoming and growing in different directions without spoiling or giving away anything. But I’m pretty sure it will happen pretty soon. I can’t fully recall. But things begin to take off if we’re on episode five this week.

Well, I hope so. It’s been a lot of fun. What has been the most rewarding or challenging aspect of playing Van in the series so far?

The most rewarding aspects have been things in my personal life. This opened my mind to people I know or don’t know who suffer in silence and look like they’re completely fine.

I’m trying to bring that into my personal life and be aware that even though somebody looks like they’re completely fine, they might be going through something.

 I could look back at people I’ve known in the past who had conditions that I was aware of, but I didn’t know what they entailed.

I used to think they were fine since they seemed normal and were running around town or exercising. They seemed healthy.

 But they weren’t healthy, and they were struggling with mental illness and struggling with certain things.

The most rewarding aspect has been that it’s shifted my perspective and given me more compassion and patience with people in general.

And the challenge?

The most challenging experience is being compassionate and vulnerable. So, even as an actor, there were many complex scenes, and I tried to do them well and portray them in a very grounded and authentic way.

The other challenging part about being Van was the medical vocabulary. I had to learn many of those words and make them believable because I’m not a doctor.

Yes, I understand. Sometimes, it’s tough to make out the medical terms when writing about the show. I often have to Google them.

I googled words, and luckily, we had a couple of medical consultants on set. So luckily, we had these super tutors with us at all times.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.