Then There's the Unexpected

[ithildin]

So the only thing on this announcement was not to talk about it on the PWFC list until Sunday, till all the members had a chance to see the video message from Peter, nothing about it being a secret in general, but I'll lock this post anyway.

Peter Wingfield is giving up acting to go back to medical school. Honest to God. As if I could make something like that up! As I said to pat_t: I'm surprised, but okay with it. Only our guy, huh? He hasn't been in a lot lately, and honestly, he's wasted in so much of what he has been in. Maybe this was always his path, just with a little detour. I said to Nin , 'you know that saying? I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV? Hah!'

I hope this new chapter in his life brings him fulfillment and joy.

(will unlock the post tomorrow)

Comments

[in-the-bottle.livejournal.com]

Holy.... oh wow! Good on him!

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

Yep. I came home to this this morning and I was shocked. But, as I told robi_travels, he's getting older. He's not getting the kind of roles he may have wanted or the career he thought he would have or wanted.

Interestingly enough, I was watching a bit of the LA Walkabout today and Liz Gracen was talking about the fact that she quit acting because she realized she would not ever have Nicole Kidman's career.

Either that or it's a mid-life crises *g*. Or both.

But I certainly wish him well. It takes some guts to go to med school at his age.

[giandujakiss.livejournal.com]

Holy shit.

[luscious-words.livejournal.com]

I respect him so much for this decision. But I will miss seeing news about upcoming roles for him. I wish him all the happiness and success with this new path. :)

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

Wow. It's gutsy to go back to medical school at his age. I'm just trying to get a Bachelor's degree in Information and Library Services, and am terrified most of the time. Go Peter!

[meekkat.livejournal.com]

=(. Well, at least I still have several things he's done that I haven't watched yet.

On the other hand, I'm glad for him to go back and finish med school. I wonder if he will start all over again?

[juniperphoenix]

Wow!

[dejla.livejournal.com]

Well, I will miss seeing him in things--and I would watch otherwise awful things just to see him--but if this what will give him a happy and stable life/career, then I wish him all the best.

[kickair8p.livejournal.com]

Wow, med-school's a difficult grind! Gonna miss him on screen, but medicine was his first choice -- wish him well with it.

~

[sidhe-woman.livejournal.com]

Did Peter say where he was going to study medicine? US, UK or Canada?

Whichever, I'm wishing him all the luck in the world. This is a gutsy decision - but I've always thought that to work in the medical arena is more of a vocation than a simple career choice, and it called him back in the end.

Hopefully he'll keep in touch with his fanbase so we can continue to wish him well.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Apparently he's been accepted into the University of Vermont's program.

[jerel.livejournal.com]

Good luck to Peter in his new career choice!

[otterevil.livejournal.com]

Wow! That's... pretty cool, actually :) I hope it works out for him.

ooookay

[idontlikegravy.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's a left-turn at the traffic lights and no mistake. But good for him to make such a brave decision.

Did he say if he was returning to the UK to study?

Gives me hope that I might get that PhD one day! :)

Re: ooookay

[ninjababe.livejournal.com]

He's been accepted to the University of Vermont...

Makes my dream of pharmacy school to be a pharmacist not seem that hard to do.

[nickygabriel]

That's interesting :)
Thank you for posting!

[tpena19.livejournal.com]

Wow. Well, good luck to him. We'll always have reruns and such I suppose.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

IS HE GONNA BE AN OB-GYN? IF SO, I MIGHT GO MORE REGULARLY. LIKE ONCE A WEEK.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I followed this link because I used to watch Highlander and was curious about Wingfield ... but then I got hypnotized by your icon ...

[arhyalon.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's weird.

Hope he does well.

[just-ustas.livejournal.com]

it was like bomb for me. i'm starting to miss him even from now.
but of cause i wish peter good luck on this way. this is rare thing to change life so cardinally again and again.
heh, maybe he like methos has many lives... *wink*

[aeron-lanart.livejournal.com]

Damn fool man - but brave. To *want* to go back into medicine takes dedication and a special sort of insanity. I wish him all the best.

[sparrowsverse.livejournal.com]

Can you just imagine a Highlander fan's reaction if Peter was his or her's doctor?

"So, Death has finally come for me." *snerks*

[ursus maritimus (from livejournal.com)]

From Peter's tweets he seems very interested in humanitarian causes and I wonder if that isn't behind his choice to return to school rather than "lack" of success as an actor. If you can support a family as an actor, you are a success in the field. But I wonder if he figures he can do more for people as a doctor than as an actor? I know the way medical school in the UK is organized is quite different than the States (at least back when PW went) but I hope he doesn't have to start from scratch! The UK used to have a 3 year medical school degree followed by 2 years of on the job training as junior doctors. Specialty training (eg surgical) required another 2+ years but you can take your exams after a total of 5-6 years I think. The States require 4 year undergrad followed by 4 year graduate and a residency of 3+ years. So that's 11 years total, at least. I'm sure a UK medical school degree would allow him to take US entrance exams but I can't see the school ignoring the rest of his training (he must have done 2 years equivalent of US med school plus 2 years residency). He can't be the only English doctor who had finished his training but wasn't yet licensed so there must be some policy for giving them credit. If not, PWs got 7 years to go. I went back to school at age 38 to get my masters degree. I felt so old but I learned quicker because I had so much more life experience.