Jocko Sims just can’t stay away from saving lives on screen. The actor played the driven, compassionate Dr. Floyd Reynolds on New Amsterdam from 2018 to 2022 and had a 2018 stint as bold Dr. Ben Wilmot on The Resident. Now he’s back as kind, neighborly Dr. George A. Tann on Netflix’s reimagining of the classic TV series Little House on the Prairie, based on the semi-autobiographical books by Laura Ingalls Wilder about American frontier life.

Sims’ character was inspired by a real-life pioneering physician (see our exploration of his life here) who appeared briefly in the books. Sims tells us about his own med school dreams, how Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass helped him prepare for the role, and his character’s prairie romance.

Why did you want to play Dr. Tann?

Jocko Sims: What attracted me to the role is the fact that he was a real person. I’ve seen pictures of his tombstone in Independence, Kansas. It says on the tombstone that he saved the Ingalls’ lives when they got malaria in real life. So, in a sense, without Dr. Tann, there would be no Ingalls, no Little House on the Prairie. It’s amazing that we get to see his story on the screen for the first time.

Is he like you at all?

Dr. Tann is a very nice guy. He’s the one greeting people when they first come into town. I’m the same. I always speak to my neighbors. More importantly, I wanted to be a doctor. I had all the credentials. I was a straight-A student, top 5% of my class, National Honor Society. Then when I got to college my first year, I decided, I don’t want to be in school for the next 12 years. I took a theater course, went on one of my first auditions and booked it. I was like, this is probably what I was meant to do.

What research did you do?

Because he’s a doctor in the 1800s, I had to research how they would do things — wrap a sprained ankle and whatnot. It’s been fun going through the old medical books and the tools and equipment. [When Dr. Tann had to fix a] dislocated shoulder, I started researching how to put a shoulder back. I found the updated versions, [but] we had to work with a stunt coordinator and another producer to figure out an older version. [Also] when you’re in a hospital show, you have a team. Dr. Tann was in this brand-new town with no extra hands. [Everyone had] to rely on [his] knowledge. During the epidemic of malaria — it was called intermittent fever back then — he rode all over to try to get quinine to treat it.

We haven’t seen the Black experience depicted in a lot of pioneer shows. What research did you do to learn about that?

I wanted to make sure I read some of the books that Dr. Tann might’ve read during that time. I started reading the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, which was very eye-opening. We know a lot about what African Americans have gone through in regard to slavery; however, the firsthand account from somebody who grew up in it and then was eventually freed [is] a harrowing tale. I wanted to make sure that with Dr. Tann, I didn’t lose sight of what he had experienced. Dr. Tann himself was a doctor in the Civil War, so he’d seen a lot of bloodshed. I wanted to bring that into the role. He smiles a lot. He’s happy a lot, but there’s a lot that he’s been through.

What else was new for you?

I had to learn to ride a horse. When you first see Dr. Tann in our version of the story, he pulls up on the horse and he finds Caroline [Crosby Fitzgerald] soon after the Ingalls crossed the river. Apparently, the trainers were laughing because [my horse, Sancho] would take advantage a little bit. He could tell I was nice. I’m like, oh, if he wants to go over here and eat the grass, I let him. He would try to catch up with his other horse buddies. But once we got on camera, we hit that mark.

How does Dr. Tann’s friendship with the Ingalls grow?

He sees that Caroline is injured and helps her. Dr. Tann is the first person the Ingalls meet in town. He knows his way around. He lets them know that they have to go to the Judson Hotel to lay claim to a land and talk to Eli James. He knows everything — who’s a good person, who to watch out for, who’s got the best homemade jam.

Eric Zachanowich/Netflix

So, tell me about his romantic life.

Oh boy. He meets [general store owner/manager] Emily [Barrett Doss]. He’s smitten. She’s smitten. I don’t know if I played a character where my lover has been the one to be a little bit more of the aggressor. I found that interesting as an actor to play. But he steps up, they become very close.

Did you watch Little House on the Prairie as a child?

I would see reruns. Every time I saw it, I just would feel this warmth. It was feel-good television. And that’s exactly what popped in my head when I saw this role. Honestly, [at first] I was concerned. I’m like, do we want to see that again? Because it’s so great right now. The old show is doing so well, people are loving it. But when I found out that they’re going to be focusing more on a book version, that’s when I got excited. I can’t wait for people to see it.

Little House on the Prairie, Series Premiere, Thursday, July 9, Netflix