Jared Kalu

Jared Kalu
Biographical Information
Born:	c.1989 (age 34) United Kingdom
Status:	Alive
Profession:	Surgical Resident Concierge Doctor (formerly)
Workplace:	San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital Denver Memorial Hospital (formerly)
Title(s):	M.D. F.A.C.S
Relationships
Family:	Unnamed mother Unnamed father Unnamed daughter Miles Browne (father-in-law) Breeze Browne † (mother-in-law)
Significant Other(s):	Claire Browne (wife) Celez (ex-girlfriend) Dahlia (fake girlfriend)
Appearances
Portrayed by:	Chuku Modu
First appeared:	Burnt Food
Last appeared:	Goodbye

"Shaun believed there was something wrong with the patient. Shaun communicated with him, connected with him, got him to come in. And whether he's right or not, I couldn't be prouder to back him because he sticks to his gut and he fights for what he thinks is right!"

—Jared Kalu

Dr. Jared Kalu is a surgical resident at St. Bonaventure Hospital and main character of the first season of the show and the first episode of the second season and a recurring one in the sixth season before becoming a main one again in the seventh season. After he initially lost his job at the hospital which he regained (while losing respect from his superiors), he ended up going on to work at Denver Memorial Hospital in the second season before returning in the sixth in aid of Shaun’s help with a man Jared was a concierge doctor for, Roland Barnes, before returning to work at the hospital again but starting over as a first year resident.

History

Before the show

Jared was most likely born in the United Kingdom and grew up in a rich, yet negligent family. He was raised by nannies and was frequently sent to boarding school. He spent Christmases with his parents during his academical life. At the age of 18 he moved out to pursue a career in medicine, going against his father‘s wishes. After an unknown amount of time he returned to his family’s house to inform his parents of his achievement, only to discover that they had moved out months ago without informing him. This left Jared with a vulnerable mental state and difficulties with romantic relationships, as he has felt unrequited love since childhood.

Jared then went to work at St. Bonaventure Hospital under Dr. Aaron Glassman and soon formed a relationship with fellow resident Dr. Claire Browne while working there. They just mostly had sex, but had their first kiss during their first overnight at the hospital as the Shura song Touch played. He still continued to feel unrequited love during this time, albeit from Claire.

As Jared, Claire and the attending Dr. Neil Melendez were working on Callum Reilly (a man who needed bypass surgery), they soon started working on Adam, a young boy who had shards of glass in him from an accident at an airport. They ended up including in it Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young man who was actually also another resident at the hospital and had initially helped treat Adam while knowing that Adam needed an echocardiogram and was instrumental in helping him. However, Jared didn’t think much of him while annoyed when Claire possibly gave false hope to Stephanie Willis, a woman who needed surgery but was worried about not being able to make it to her son’s wedding. Jared later made a suggestion to Neil to help Stephanie which was actually an idea Shaun had but Jared stole, which Claire didn’t take kindly to. However, Jared called her out as she didn’t tell on him to Neil in case it didn’t work and was about to give up on Stephanie at one point.

After Jared had to help Neil with the case of Chuck Bass who needed a liver transplant (which he didn’t get), Barb Allen (a pregnant woman with a tumor) and Mr. Wilks who had tapeworms, Jared had to help out after a wedding bus crashed and the people injured were brought to the hospital. He ended up working on Celez, a woman who had severe burns to her body which he had to help with by applying tilapia skins to her. However, he was warned by Andrews for how Jared used his wealth to get another hospital to pay their burns department. Jared also had to help Glenn, an older man with a wrecked pacemaker who truthfully wanted to die. Jared obliged, reluctantly, and sat with Glenn while relating this experience with Claire who also lost a patient from the wedding bus crash.

After Jared had to help with Gabriel, a young boy from the Republic of the Congo, he and Shaun were charged with taking care of pro gamer Bobby Ato. At the same time, Claire was working with another attending, Dr. Matt Coyle, whom Claire felt uncomfortable around. After Jared tried to brush off Claire’s fears, she soon revealed that Coyle had made advances and got annoyed when Jared disregarded her. He later tried to confront Coyle in the locker room, only to get himself fired for assaulting him.

Jared tried to take responsibility for his actions, but Coyle refused to help him and the Chief of Surgery Dr. Marcus Andrews stated that he could only write Jared a letter of recommendation for another hospital. However, he gained his job back by playing the “race card” but lost complete respect from Neil and Andrews in the process. He all the same continued with his work, including Naja - a woman suffering from burns and chest pains - and was involved in a competition between Neil and fellow attending Audrey Lim where Jared, Shaun and Lim had to treat Quinn, a transgender girl, all the while Shaun accidentally wrecked their chances of winning when he made statements about Quinn being a boy.

While the rest of the team were given Coyle’s residents, Morgan Reznick and Alex Park, after Coyle got transferred following several allegations about his sexual misconduct of his residents, Jared and Claire ended up attending a gala together. However, when Claire failed to recognize Touch as the song where she and Jared had their first kiss, Jared broke up with Claire and (at Morgan’s suggestion) decided to apply for Denver State Memorial Hospital. When Celez soon came in to have her tilapia skins taken off, Jared realized that she and him apparently liked each other. However, he didn’t know what to do as he never knew love before and couldn’t ask for help. Surprisingly, he ended up asking Shaun for once and he offered to take over getting Celez’s tilapia skins off while she and Jared formed a relationship.

Jared was involved in a surgery on college student Caden Hauley who ended up suffering complications. While they tried to figure it out and even question Caden’s friend Blake with whom Caden had come to the hospital. It was eventually realized that it was Shaun’s fault as he was finishing Caden’s surgery when he got distracted because he thought Glassman was dying. When the team were talking about whether or not to report what Shaun had done, Jared took umbrage at Park stating that doing so was protocol as Shaun was just upset. They eventually went along with an idea that Shaun had and worked, while they all went out for drinks together.

Season 2

On Jared’s last day before he was due to go to Denver, Andrews held reviews for the residents. Jared refused to go to his and instead set straight off to work with Shaun providing care for homeless people. While doing so, they encountered a homeless man who claimed his name was Harry and was brought to the hospital when Jared believed he had chlamydia. It turned out he didn’t and Jared was told off over this by Andrews who saw Jared was trying to prove himself and threatened to wreck Jared’s new life in Denver if he continued. Eventually, Shaun worked out that Harry had a tumor and communicated this to him. While Jared was proud of Shaun’s accomplishment, Andrews stated that he was going to say that Jared had a lot of fight which until that day he never appeared to direct in the right way. Jared soon left the hospital for Denver, saying goodbye to Claire and Shaun.

Season 6

Even after Jared left, he apparently remained something of a legend amongst the staff as Dr. Asher Wolke had heard of him years later and that Andrews wasn't fond of him.

Jared appears to be outwardly content with working as a concierge doctor and has apparently reconnected with his parents, having met his boss Roland Barnes at one of their functions. Jared is shown to retain a great deal of fondness for his former coworkers, Shaun in particular, smiling as he watches Shaun go through his process of visualization and having told Roland that Shaun was the best doctor to help him.

However, privately, Jared admits that he isn't as happy as he seems, revealing that he felt like a failure when he left St. Bonaventure and choosing to work for Roland since he saw something in Jared, someone that both Jared and the world admired. Jared still struggles with the idea that he is a failure in his life despite his successes. Working with Shaun on Roland's case reignites Jared's passion for surgery, causing him to decide to resume his residency and become a surgeon as Jared had always wanted to be even though it means that Jared will have to go back to the beginning with his residency. Jared states that in his years away, he has learned a lot about himself, how to better communicate and how to manage challenging personalities which has prepared Jared for tough patients and tougher attendings.

During his time as Shaun's resident, the two at first struggle to figure out how to separate their personal and professional relationships while Jared gets caught in a love triangle with Drs. Jordan Allen and Daniel Perez. Jared later admits to Asher that, in Denver, he had tried an experimental surgery to save an ovarian cancer patient who could've survived with the regular treatment, but had a low quality of life. Jared's surgery ended with the patient dying on the table and Jared quitting his job in Denver, severely impacting his confidence. As a result, Jared takes a more cautious approach while treating a man who was almost cut in half and clashes with Danny who wants to save the man's lower half while Jared wants to amputate it. After revealing his past to Asher, Jared figures out a solution that works and teams up with Danny to implement it. When Lim and Andrews nearly go through with the amputation anyways as Jared and Danny's solution appears to be failing, Asher encourages Jared to take a chance and stand up for his plan which proves to be the right call.

Season 7

In "Baby, Baby, Baby," Jared remains distant with Jordan following Danny's departure, angry with how Jordan had given Danny opioids against his wishes. After Jordan reveals that she has been feeling isolated and lonely, the two make amends.

In "Unconditional," Claire Browne returns from Guatemala after finding a lump in her breast which proves to be stage 1 breast cancer. Shaun, Jared and Charlie treat him, and Claire and Jared reunite for the first time since his departure years before. Jared mentions that he and Jordan have chosen to remain just friends and Jordan has been reconnecting with Danny. Claire admits that she had come back rather than getting treatment in Guatemala because Shaun had told her that Jared would be there. The two's feelings for each other quickly resurface and Claire apologizes for being unable to commit to their relationship. While attending Park and Morgan's wedding, Claire and Jared kiss and plan to go home together after Claire promises that it wouldn't be a one night stand. However, Claire suddenly feels sick, passes out, and is rushed to the hospital by Jared.

In "Goodbye," Claire is diagnosed with an acitobacter post-op infection, something that is resistant to all antibiotics. As Claire's condition deteriorates, she and Jared profess their love for each other for the first time and promise to find a way to make things work. Claire is eventually put into a medically induced coma and the doctors are forced to amputate her left arm, something that will end Claire's surgical career, in an effort to save her life. Eventually, Shaun and Charlie develop an experimental bacteriophage treatment that Glassman gives to Claire so that Shaun won't have to sacrifice his career after the FDA refuses to approve it.

Following Claire's recovery, she and Jared resume their relationship, eventually marrying and having a daughter together. Ten years later, Claire, Jared and their daughter attend Shaun's lecture.

Personality

Despite his strong physical stature, Jared is emotionally soft and caring. In fact, he occasionally has difficulty controlling those emotions.

Trivia

• As revealed in "The Overview Effect," Jared speaks Yoruba as his father's Nigerian.

Appearances

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Gallery

Promotional Photos

Season 1

Episode Stills

Season 2