'The Hot Zone' has an absolute badass Julianna Margulies rattling 'medical jargon with such precision,' reveals co-star Lenny Platt

Margulies plays a US Army scientist working with a secret team that perilously tracks the origins of the Ebola virus from Africa to America in 1989.
PUBLISHED MAY 22, 2019

Golden Globe and Emmy award winner Julianna Margulies is returning to TV screens as the protagonist Dr. Nancy Jaax in Nat Geo's 'The Hot Zone'. Based on the the international best-seller of the same name by Richard Preston, the miniseries tracks the true story about the origins of the Ebola virus from the central African rainforest and its arrival on US soil in 1989. But the biggest highlight of the show definitely has to be Margulies' character, Dr. Jaax - not only because she a totally badass woman setting records and arrogant people working under her straight for the six episodes of the show, but she also dishes out medical jargon eloquently like a pro.

Actor Lenny Platt, who is known for his previous works in big productions like the US daytime soap opera 'One Life to Live', and ABC thriller 'Quantico,' gushed about what an incredible experience it was to work alongside 'The Good Wife' actress in the upcoming show. Platt plays Captain Kyle Orman - an Army Ranger who is assigned to the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

The character comes across Margulies' Dr. Jaax on his first day at work, as she recruits him to assist her in evaluating the potential new outbreak of Ebola and join their elite medical unit called the 91 Tangos.

Julianna Margulies as Dr. Nancy Jaax in 'The Hot Zone.' Source: National Geographic

Speaking about how thrilling the whole experience of working with Margulies was, Platt, in an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide, shared, "Julianna is the best. Everyone can see how talented she is, but she’s so lovely to work with. She also can dance the Floss better than anyone and could give the backpack kid a run for his money!"

While Platt assures "there’s video somewhere of us dancing it in those suits, which may never see the light of day, but it's internet gold," what really intrigues us about her performance in the miniseries is how effortlessly she was able to slip into the character's requirements, especially when it came to her profession.

The Hot Zone's Lenny Platt teased that the drama about the Ebola virus outbreak "made me more germaphobic" Credit: Ariel Roberson

"I was just lucky to be in scenes with someone who could rattle off that medical jargon with such precision," gushed Platt, adding: "We had to be in those claustrophobic, heavy, hot suits for 12 hours a day sometimes and she was a badass!"

And that's all we need to know to be assured that Margulies has done absolute justice to the character who has been described as "a heroic U.S. Army scientist working with a secret military specialized team who put her life on the line to head off the outbreak before it spread to the human population," in the official synopsis of the show.

'The Hot Zone' premieres on Monday, May 27, at 9 pm, only on National Geographic.

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