Peter Benton
Peter Benton, M.D. is a fictional character from the NBC medical drama series ER, portrayed by actor Eriq La Salle, appearing as a primary character from the pilot episode until part way through the eighth season.
La Salle made two guest appearances in later episodes of the eighth season, before returning again for two more episodes in the fifteenth season, including the series finale.
Casting
Although Benton was an original character, according to an interview La Salle gave in 1997, he was cast late in the role, after the first season had already started filming. He recalled, "I was surprisingly calm. When casting waits that long, they're basically waiting for someone to come in and take the role. I was ready and completely focused. I came into the office with a stethoscope and surgical greens I had left over from The Human Factor. When I left, I wanted them to say 'That's Dr. Benton'". Within three days of his audition, La Salle was offered the role of Dr. Benton.Development
The name of the character was inspired by The Peter Bent Brigham Hospital which was a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School, where series originator Michael Crichton studied medicine, although the birth name of Crichton's wife at the time, Anne-Marie Martin, was also Benton.Several relationships were scripted into the character's narrative. In Season 4 he began dating Dr. Elizabeth Corday, played by Alex Kingston. Both surgeons and the characters competed with each other professionally and failed to be adequately supportive of each other in their personal crises, so Corday ends the relationship in Season 5. According to an article published in Jet in 1999, Eriq La Salle was the reason why the romance dissolved. He was unhappy that Benton's interracial romance with Corday was being shown as less problematic than his prior romances with black characters, such as Jeanie Boulet and Carla Reese. In an interview, La Salle stated, "As an African-American man, it becomes a bit offensive if the negative things are all you're showing. Because in real life we romance and get on each other's nerves and laugh and do all the things that any other race of people do. So if the only time you show a balanced relationship is in an interracial relationship, whether it's conscious or sub-conscious, it sends a message I'm not comfortable with." Mindful of the image that he was portrayed on television, La Salle asked producers to end Benton's interracial romance. While being interviewed by Johnnie Cochran on Johnnie Cochran Tonight, La Salle commented, "We have to take care of the message that we're sending as African-Americans or any other group of minorities, that we have the exact same type of exchanges with our mates that we get to see our White counterparts have." In a subsequent episode, Benton was shown to be compassionate to his former girlfriend, Jeanie.
Early days
Benton was first introduced in the pilot as a second-year surgical resident. When all the attending surgeons are occupied in other surgeries, Benton decides to operate without supervision to control a bleeding aneurysm and keep a man alive until a qualified surgeon is available. Although he does this technically against regulations, he is supported after the fact by attending physician David Morgenstern.Family and friends
Jackie and Peter's mother
In Season 1, we learn that Dr. Benton's mother has had a stroke and is mostly being cared for by his sister Jackie, who wants to move her into an assisted living facility, an option to which Peter is strongly opposed. One night when Benton is watching his mother in Jackie's home, she falls down the stairs and breaks her hip.Jeanie Boulet
Benton meets Jeanie Boulet, a married Physician Assistant, at the hospital. Impressed, he hires her to work with his mother as a physical therapist. Benton's mother dies, devastating him, and when Jeanie comforts him, they end up having an affair. In Season 2, Benton's affair with Jeanie ends. Jeanie separates from her husband Al and learns that he contracted HIV from an affair, and furthermore that he passed the disease on to her; however, Jeanie does not pass the virus to Peter.Carla Reese
In Season 3, Peter becomes involved with a former girlfriend, Carla Reese, who soon becomes pregnant. She gives birth to a son, Reese Benton, who is born prematurely. It is later discovered that, possibly from complications from Reese's prematurity or his NICU treatment, the boy is deaf. Peter, at first, has difficulty accepting that his son is deaf and looks into surgeries to restore his ability to hear, but he later makes his peace with who Reese is, and he and Carla teach him to communicate through sign language. Later, Carla begins a new relationship with a man named Roger McGrath and eventually marries him. At the end of Season 5, Carla more or less tells Peter that her new marriage to Roger means she will be taking Reese with them to Roger's new job in Germany and responds to Peter's shocked and angry response by saying "this WILL happen".At the start of Season 6, legal proceedings have begun over Peter's refusal to agree to Carla's demands. Carla once again angers Peter by whining that he should just step aside and agree with her and then shocks Peter by telling him that he may not be Reese's father, saying that she needed him to be a father at the time but Roger can fill that role in the future. Peter takes a DNA test to determine whether or not Carla's suspicions are true, but he chooses not to receive the results and decides he will be Reese's father regardless of biology. Carla does not respond to Peter's pleas to end the legal fight, but on Christmas Eve shows up angrily at the hospital with Reese and bitterly tells him "you win" and sarcastically thanks him for ruining her and Roger's lives, as Roger's boss booted him from the Germany-based promotion over the time he spent in court and they will have to remain in Chicago; Peter bluntly says he is sorry about the job but not sorry that his son will remain in the same city as him. In Season 7, Carla shows up anew to openly flirt with Peter, cause problems between him and his new girlfriend Cleo Finch, and lie to Roger about Peter hitting on her to the point where Roger and Peter have an altercation in the ER.
In the 2nd episode of Season 8, Carla is killed in a car accident. Peter takes Reese into his full custody, but when Roger continues to appeal for time with his stepson, Peter insists that Roger move on with his life and stay away. Roger sues Peter for custody of Reese, and his lawyers force Peter to address the fact that he may not be Reese's biological father. Peter takes another paternity test and this time learns the truth—he is not Reese's biological father. Roger's lawyer makes an issue of the long hours' Peter's job demands, whereas Roger works from home and commands his own schedule.
During court, Peter perjures himself on the witness stand and proclaims that he has been given a new schedule with reduced working hours at County General Hospital. A furious Roger confronts Peter about lying, but quickly turns abusive when he dares Peter to hit him and then says Peter "can't give your sister a new kid!". Peter later goes to his supervisor, Dr. Robert Romano, and asks for such a schedule, but Romano cannot offer only daytime hours. Peter hands in his resignation, and he goes to the out-of-town clinic where his girlfriend Cleo Finch now works to try to get a job there. He is successful and gets the hours he had promised the judge, and he is awarded sole custody of Reese with Roger receiving visitation rights. When a saddened Roger brings Reese's Christmas presents to the hospital later that day, Peter, knowing that Roger is important to Reese, tells Roger to come to his and Cleo's home on Christmas Day and give the presents to Reese himself. He does tell Roger he is doing this not for Roger's sake but for Reese and both men tacitly acknowledge Peter has won.
Elizabeth Corday
When British surgeon Dr. Elizabeth Corday starts work at County General Hospital, she is quickly attracted to Benton, though he initially disregards her attentions. At length, Elizabeth tells him she believes that he does not want to pursue a relationship with her because of their racial difference, and Benton finally grudgingly admits to her that "I do have a problem dating white women." Professionally, Benton and Corday attempt to outdo each other several times and both are eventually given the opportunity to work with Dr. Robert Romano. Later in the year, Benton assists with a surgery performed by his mentor Dr. David Morgenstern. Morgenstern makes a serious mistake that endangers the patient's life. Benton shoves him out of the way to take over the operation, with Elizabeth walking in too late to see Morgenstern's mistake but witnessing Benton's actions toward Morgenstern. Benton is suspended and comes close to losing his job before Morgenstern finally comes forward with the videotape of the operation, which exonerates his former student.Morgenstern then resigns from the hospital, and a distraught Peter begins an affair with Elizabeth. They remain together through much of the following two years, although their relationship eventually begins to suffer due to Peter's needing to spend more time attending to Reese. Elizabeth helps him realize that their romance isn't going anywhere, and they end their affair, though they remain close friends and colleagues. Their friendship is troubled, however, when Elizabeth approaches the hospital staff with the idea of a trauma surgical fellowship. Benton withdraws his tentative commitment to Romano's cardiothoracic fellowship and campaigns for and is granted the trauma fellowship. Elizabeth feels betrayed by Peter and, wishing to stay at County, takes Romano's cardiothoracic fellowship offer.
Alex Kingston, who played Corday, later said: "ou see interracial relationships all over the place . I kind of naively thought it would be even more liberal in America. And it couldn't have been further from the truth. In fact, I'm trying to think if there's a television show right now where there's an African American and Caucasian relationship. They're few and far between."