TORREY DEVITTO currently stars in the NBC drama, Chicago Med. We spoke to Torrey DeVitto about her life outside of her busy acting schedule: meditating and hospice volunteering.
AC: When did you start meditation, who introduced you to it?
TORREY DEVITTO – I started meditating about 7 years ago now. I met a Transcendental meditation teacher named Light Watkins in Venice, who ended up being my coach.
AC: What were the first few sessions of it like?
TORREY DEVITTO – The first few sessions were really challenging. My mind was constantly wandering and I had a lot of moments of frustration. When you start meditating, a lot comes up for you. Sometimes I will just start crying or laughing and not know why. It’s like your mind and body working together to work out all the kinks you may not have even known were there. I also would fall asleep a lot and was very sensitive to outside noise when I would meditate. Now, that stuff doesn’t bother me at all, and I can meditate through almost anything.
AC: What made you want to continue with it?
TORREY DEVITTO – It just felt good. You start seeing the benefits almost immediately. Even if you feel like you’re not doing it right, you almost instantly start feeling calmer and see its effects. I will never not meditate.
AC: How has it impacted your life?
TORREY DEVITTO – It has impacted my life in such an incredibly big way. It helps my anxiety and it helps me stay centered. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, even if there is a deadline hanging over my head, I know that if I just pause for a second and meditate, even for five minutes, I will be able to accomplish whatever it is I am trying to do in a much more efficient and peaceful way. The proof is in the pudding, because when I ignore knowing that I need to meditate that day, I slowly start falling apart.
AC: Has it changed how you work as an actor?
TORREY DEVITTO – It helps me with my acting a lot. Sometimes on set everything is go, go, go, and meditating forces me to have a slow down moment which in turn makes me better at my job.
AC: Would you say it has changed your outlook at all?
TORREY DEVITTO – Absolutely. I have a lot more patience since meditating. It has helped me stay centered and breathe through things. Before meditating I used to have a rather ‘hyper’ outlook on life, now it is a much calmer, more loving, accepting outlook.
AC: How would your life be different now without having done meditation?
TORREY DEVITTO – I would probably still have a lot more anxiety and stress.
AC: In between filming on Chicago Med, how much time do you have for your hospice volunteering?
TORREY DEVITTO – I actually found a hospice here in Chicago called ‘Rainbow Hospice’ that I started working with. I redid my training there to continue doing inpatient care. I have a patient currently whom I see about once a week. She happened to be a fan of the show as well, so I got to have her come visit me at work, which was very fun and something I had never done before. This is the first patient I have had that actually knows what I do for a living!
AC: Has this experience volunteering at the hospice informed your role at all as a pediatrician in Chicago Med?
TORREY DEVITTO – Absolutely. When I first auditioned for Med and felt the compassion that was in the role of ‘Dr. Manning’, I knew that my Hospice work would carry me through the audition and help me find who this character was. I attribute a lot of me landing this role to my working with Hospice.
AC: If you had a few more hours in your day, is there another activity you would take up?
TORREY DEVITTO – I would definitely take more dance classes and a drawing class.
Quick Questions with Torrey DeVitto
AC: Favorite band?
TORREY DEVITTO – The Muse
AC: Favorite solo artist?
TORREY DEVITTO – Etta James
AC: Everyone has a cool app idea, what’s yours?
TORREY DEVITTO – An app to tell you to get off your phone!
AC: What’s that one food that you haven’t yet tried?
TORREY DEVITTO – Twinkie
AC: Advice to your younger self?
TORREY DEVITTO – Everything will be OK.
AC: Is there one thing in particular that you’re really excited about for the future?
TORREY DEVITTO – Starting a family.
AC: A sport you wish you could play?
TORREY DEVITTO – Soccer
AC: What was the last book you read?
TORREY DEVITTO – Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
AC: Would you rather be at a mountain hideaway or a beach house?
TORREY DEVITTO – Mountain hideaway, for sure!
AC: What is the farthest you have been from home?
TORREY DEVITTO – Japan
AC: Do you have an aim or a target for the year ahead?
TORREY DEVITTO – I just want to do what makes me happy and most importantly, learn how to make myself happy and not try and find it through others.
Chicago Med Season Three is currently airing on NBC
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIO BARBERIO
INTERVIEW WITH ADAM CROOKES
MAKEUP BY MELISSA HERNANDEZ
HAIR BY LUCY GEDJEYAN
WARDROBE STYLING BY MADISON DIXON
