Gregory Pratt, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama series ER, portrayed by Mekhi Phifer. He first appears as a recurring character towards the end of the eight season, becoming a main character from the start of the ninth season until the start of the fifteenth season.
Character overview
Pratt's first appearance as the main character was late in Season 8 in the episode "Orion in the Sky" (2002), as a smart but arrogant intern from VA hospital. He meets Dr. Mark Greene on Greene's last day at County and is initially dismissive of him, before becoming more measured when he learns of Mark's terminal cancer, and by day's end has learned a little about practicing medicine from Dr. Greene. Dr. Pratt wasn't present at Dr. Greene's funeral but in a flashback episode in Season 12 "Body & Soul", it revealed Dr. Pratt worked that day at the hospital since it was understaffed with most of the doctors at Dr. Greene's memorial. Pratt later inherits Dr. Greene's locker.
At the beginning of his residency, Pratt showed immediate leadership and quick precision. His limited experience and cowboy antics often led Pratt to collide with his chief resident Dr. John Carter and other attendings on many occasions, including a procedure he was unqualified to do (though the patient survived) and resuscitating a patient who had been declared dead, and was brain-dead upon his "revival." He initially clashed with med student Michael Gallant as Michael's military background made him more by-the-book whereas Pratt liked to circumvent the rules, but they later became close friends. During the critical smallpox outbreak, Pratt proved his skills and courage as a swift physician by helping Dr. Luka Kovač and Dr. Jing-Mei Chen save Dr. Romano's life. The hospital is thrown into chaos during the evacuation gone awry, and he along with Dr. John Carter, Abby Lockhart, and Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen was forced to quarantine in the ER.
Character arc: Seasons 9-15
In Season 9, Pratt begins an off/on relationship with fellow physician, Dr. Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen. During the series, it was revealed that Pratt had a mentally disabled adopted brother named Leon living with him, a man who kept Pratt safe and focused on school during his childhood but was left with the reasoning ability of a small child after surviving a gunshot to the head. Due to his disability, Leon often got into trouble and would disrupt Pratt's professional and personal life, especially when he became involved with a group of thugs who stabbed him in the buttock over a confiscated gun, got him thrown in jail overnight, and then made him join them on a robbery that ended with one of the thugs dead and a cop badly injured. To help give Pratt a break, Carter suggested that Leon leave town for a while, leading Pratt to send his brother away to stay with other family members in Baltimore. Leon never returned to the show and was not mentioned again in future seasons. Pratt and medical student Michael Gallant were briefly held for questioning by the Chicago police after a robbery/homicide occurred at a diner across the street; Chen had said that she might have seen a black man fleeing the scene.
During the tenth season, Pratt was supposedly fired by the frustrated Dr. Romano, whom he had been bumping heads with ever since Romano took over the ER. This was based on bogus allegations that Romano was collecting because of his overall dislike of Dr. Pratt, planning to build them up until he had enough ammunition to get rid of Pratt for good. However, Romano never got to present these findings before the hospital director since he never showed up at the conference (unbeknownst to the others, he had been killed minutes earlier by a helicopter that crashed in the ambulance bay and crushed him). Dr. Anspaugh, correctly assuming that Romano was biased, told Pratt to keep up the good work.
Pratt and Chen's continuing relationship began to break down when Pratt's casual flirting with a new medical student Neela Rasgotra led to Pratt telling Chen he did not see them having a serious future together. Their relationship ended early in Season 10 and Chen was often curt and dismissive towards Pratt for a long while, but they eventually became friends again.