Luka Kovač
Dr. Luka Kovač is a fictional medical doctor on the
television series
ER. He is portrayed by
Goran Višnjić. Višnjić's character was brought in at the start of Season 6 (1999) to ease the previous mid-season departure of leading character
Dr. Doug Ross (played by
George Clooney).
Luka Kovač is an emergency room
attending physician from
Croatia. He speaks of having a joyful, though financially modest, childhood, with at least one brother, and he keeps in contact with his father. Luka served in the Croatian army, and saw combat. He was a family man, with a wife (Daniela), son (Marko), and daughter (Jasna). Jasna was his older child, and from a birthday photo we know she was at least four. When the
war in Croatia (1991-1995) broke out, Luka was at first hesitant to move away, as he wanted to finish his internship. He ended up waiting too long, and it became unsafe to leave. While he was out one morning his apartment building was hit by a mortar shell. His infant son died instantly. His wife and daughter died a few hours later. He carries guilt from the incident because in choosing to stay and perform CPR on his daughter, his wife bled out. He moved to the United States of America some time after that for a fresh start.
Luka has been in a number of relationships since his arrival, from one-night-stands with a prostitute to several long-term
monogamous relationships. Though his heart is in the right place, he has been largely unsuccessful in dating. Soon after arriving at County General he became smitten with pregnant
Head Nurse Carol Hathaway. After her twins were born, a kiss between Luka and Carol served as an epiphany for Carol and she left Chicago (and the series) for Seattle to be with her true love, and the father of her children,
Dr. Doug Ross. Later on Luka became involved with
Nurse Abby Lockhart, a relationship seemingly doomed to fail as on their very first date they were mugged and Luka unintentionally killed their assailant by being over vigorous with his self defense. After Abby and Luka broke up they remained close friends. Luka then went through a long period where he seemed lost and troubled. He has many demons and tends to be emotionally reclusive and, in one spell, used sex to drown his problems. He had a series of fling relationships, including an odd affair with a prostitute who seemed to serve more as a sort of psychotherapist, and later medical student
Erin Harkins (
Lesley Bibb), who he seriously injured in a car accident while he was depressed and breaking the speed limit in his Dodge Viper. As a result of this, Luka suffered a partial
nervous breakdown, and asked to take
sabbatical leave from the hospital. A past affair between Luka and nurse
Chuny Marquez is also briefly alluded to during the tenth-season episode "Get Carter".
Luka seemed plagued by the death of his wife, though he has repeatedly expressed that he is ready to love again. Eventually he began a relationship with
Nurse Samantha Taggart, and for about two years all seemed fairly well until he expressed his desire to have more children. Sam already has a son, Alex, whom she clearly loves very much, but declared, with absolute conviction, that she was completely done with having children. Their break-up, though somewhat rough, ultimately resolves amicably. One consequence, though, is that Luka's involvement with Alex is now very limited. Currently, Luka is seeing
Abby Lockhart (
Maura Tierney) again after an argument that turned into a kiss, and an overnight affair. Abby has told him that she is pregnant, presumably by him, which may be a source of difficulty given that Abby had aborted a previous pregnancy due to the possibility of inherited bi-polar disorder, the gene(s) for which she believes she may be a carrier.
Luka is a committed physician, and is considered one of the more approachable attendings. He also is a supporter of world health, and more than once has donated his services to the
Doctors Without Borders program, coming close to death on one occasion.
Though once a man of faith, Luka has struggled with his religious beliefs. Such doubts arose after the death of his family. While treating Bishop Lionel Stewart (portrayed by
James Cromwell), he seemed to come to terms with his bitterness, although he still wrestles with what God is and isn't responsible for. In the episode
The Lost, Luka prays (in Croatian) for God to save him from the Congolese soldiers who are about to murder him. Listening to him pray, and seeing the cross he is wearing (given to him by the mother of a Congolese patient he is treating), the soldiers erroneously mistake Luka for a priest. They join him in prayer, spare his life, and subsequently release him.
He and
Dr. John Carter once had a strong rivalry arising from their feelings of attraction to
Abby, but their shared experiences in the Congo, as well as the death of Carter's son, made them true friends.
Following the departure of Dr
Susan Lewis, Luka was made Chief of Emergency Medicine, by an initially reluctant
Kerry Weaver.
In "Twenty One Guns," the 12th season finale, a shootout occurred between criminals trying to escape and the police. Luka went into the room were Samantha was being held at gunpoint. There is a struggle and one of the criminals injects a drug into him. They quickly tie him down to the bed. It turns out the drug can cause
paralysis and could lead to his death. Samantha quickly intubates him, mananging to bring him to consciousness. The prisoners take Samantha as a hostage and leaves Luka. The shootout occurs as soon as the prisoners are about to be escorted from the building with Samantha. Abby is one of the few people who were caught in the shootout, although she does suffer a few bruises she escapes unhurt. Luka still tied down hears someone screaming and to his horror sees Abby in pain. Noticing blood from her jeans, she leaves a hand print of blood on the window and collapses. Luka tries desperately to get to her but is unable to.
*In the episode
Secrets and Lies, Luka gallops through large portions of the play
Hamlet. In Višnjić's native country, he is a star for his performance of this very play on stage.
*Luka's father has been spoken of as being a train engineer and an artist (painter).
*
Bleu Profond, a Goran Visnjic Website*
Bleu Profond Message Board*
Unofficial Visnjic, a fansite for ER's Goran Visnjic*
Luka Factsheet
