Will Rush is no average doctor.
The lead of USA’s new drama “Rush” (Thursdays at 9 p.m.) is a renegade physician (Tom Ellis) who discreetly treats LA’s wealthy and elite when they get into some compromising medical situations — for a hefty price tag.
And unlike USA’s “Royal Pains,” “Rush” — which premiered last week to 1.7 million viewers — isn’t another case-of-the-week doctor show.
“The fact is Rush is a doctor and there are some medical storylines, but it’s not a medical procedural by any means,” Ellis tells The Post. “It’s more about Rush’s life and the man himself.”
That man is quite complicated. After an impulsive decision cost him his career as an ER doctor, he trades the hospital for house calls and a hard-partying lifestyle — popping pills, living out of a hotel suite and ditching the scrubs for impeccably tailored suits.
For its charming yet somewhat despicable leading man, “Rush” cast Welsh actor Ellis, best known for his role in the UK comedy “Miranda.”
Sipping mimosas at an LA hotel on a recent Sunday, the 35-year-old said after a career of playing wholesome good guys, he’s having fun channeling an anti-hero.
“They get the best lines and you get to live vicariously through your character for a while,” he says. “You get to say things…or do things, which you wouldn’t get away with in real life. It’s quite cathartic.”
The drama will humanize Rush by delving into his back story and his relationships, like those with his put-upon assistant (Sarah Habel), his recently returned ex-girlfriend (Odette Annable) and his father (Harry Hamlin) — while exploring his own conflicted conscience.
“That’s part of the theme of Season 1 — how much does this guy want to change and how much is he in denial?” Ellis says. “Is he capable and he’s choosing not to be?
“Inside of him there’s a real guy who has real wants and real needs and real doubts and real weaknesses and real flaws. To choose to ignore those can only go so far without any consequences.”
By playing a doctor on TV Ellis has realized a bit of a childhood dream.
He originally studied sports medicine before attending the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow — and his course background has proved helpful in deciphering the show’s medical terminology.
In fact his main challenge for “Rush” is working in an American accent, though he had practice while acting in the American play “The Lyons” in London last year.
“There’s a fine line between just doing an American accent and being American, and this is what this director tried to hammer into us every day,” he says. “It’s the way you talk to people, the way you articulate and the way you express yourself and how direct you are. There’s nothing apologetic about it.”
For “Rush” he’s chosen to stay in the accent for the entirety of his shooting days on the show’s Vancouver set, and now finds it’s hard to turn it off at the end of the day.
“I’ve started dreaming in American,” Ellis says with a laugh, “it’s really weird.”