Robert "Rocket" Romano, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character in the medical drama ER, portrayed by American actor Paul McCrane. He was introduced in the fourth season as a recurring character. He evolves from being a surgical attending physician to Chief of Staff at Chicago's County General Hospital, with McCrane being promoted to series regular from the sixth season until his death in the tenth season.
Known for his sarcastic and nasty comments, Romano provides an antagonistic force during his time in the series.
McCrane returned to make one further guest appearance in the final season.
Development
Romano was a recurring character during the fourth and fifth seasons of the series. He became a regular character during the sixth-season premiere. In a script from the sixth season, Romano is described as having "no soul".
In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, McCrane discussed the sequence in which Romano loses his arm in a helicopter accident during the ninth season premiere. McCrane explained: "In terms of my action, I stood up, continuing a motion of having picked up this chart that fell on the tarmac. I swung my arm up and was yanked back by a cable [...] and at whatever point would have been accurate, when my arm was on its way up, they painted in the dismembered part flying up and off camera." McCrane's arm was hidden while there was a prothesis fitted over his shoulder. According to The New York Times, it took McCrane just 20 minutes to shoot, but digitally creating and animating the helicopter, the blood, the wind and the Chicago skyline took the Stargate team a full week.
The character was killed off halfway through the tenth season. McCrane was disappointed by the producers' decision, but knew his character "had run its course". Producer Chris Chulack went on by stating "Even a horrific helicopter accident last season - in which his arm was severed, ending his career as a surgeon - could not curtail his inappropriate, sarcastic remarks. There wasn't much to be done."
After McCrane left the main cast of ER, he went on to direct multiple episodes of the series along with Laura Innes after her departure in Season 13.
Character history
Romano is introduced in the fourth season's episode "Good Touch, Bad Touch" as a surgical attending sponsoring Elizabeth Corday's internship in the Chicago ER. Romano is a brilliant surgeon, but does not get along with the majority of the staff, except for Corday whose early quarreling and professional setbacks at Romano's hands such as discontinuing her fellowship had blossomed into a respected friendship over the years. He is portrayed as obnoxious and ambitious, and is eager to jump at the job of interim ER Chief to help weasel his way toward the top of the administrative ladder.
In the fifth season, Dr. Maggie Doyle accuses Dr. Romano of sexual harassment and when she asks Elizabeth to back up her claims, she decides not to after Romano blackmails Elizabeth about her relationship with Dr. Peter Benton. Romano becomes the Acting ER Chief when Dr. Donald Anspaugh mentions he cannot cope with being the Acting Chief as well as his other jobs much to the dismay of the ER staff.
The character is promoted to series regular in the sixth season. He is hired as the new chief of staff, much to the dismay of the entire staff, but it was good news for Elizabeth because he promoted her to Associate Chief of Surgery. Kerry Weaver had originally backed him for the job, backstabbing Mark Greene in the process and earning the permanent ER Chief position, but soon becomes disgusted with him after seeing his diabolical ways which included him suspending her later in the season after she treated a comatose, brain-damaged young woman without HMO approval. He starts to grow fond of medical student Lucy Knight after she convinces him to do a heart operation on a patient on Christmas Eve. He, along with Elizabeth, treats Lucy after she is brutally stabbed by a schizophrenic patient. When Lucy dies despite their feverish work to save her, he angrily throws a surgical tray in his grief and, later in the episode, is found by Weaver closing Lucy's chest incision by himself.