“Hope is all you have”: Little House on the Prairie actor on the impact of Dr. George Tan

The beloved Little House on the Prairie series (based on the book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder) is getting a reboot. Streaming July 9th on Netflix, the show follows the Ingalls family who left everything in the big woods of Wisconsin to pursue a big life on the prairie. Actor Jocko Sims plays Dr. George Tan, a Black physician, civil war veteran, and pioneer in Kansas who saved the Ingalls family and much of their town from a near-fatal brush with malaria.

Sims sat down with The Collision to talk about a role that has been a lifetime in the making, and why he believes audiences need this show more than ever.

(Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Watch the full conversation above.)  

Nyah Phillips: You’ve said that growing up, you always wanted to play doctors in shows and movies. Why is that?

Jocko Sims: I’ve always been fascinated by—and in love with—science and medicine. I worked really hard in high school. I was in the top 5% of my class, president of the Spanish Club, National Honor Society, all these things, so that I could possibly be a doctor. I even had a medical symbol on my high school ring. I was that sure of it until I got to college and realized that first semester, “I don’t think I want to be here for the next 12 years.”

I’ve always been creative. I was always entertaining at home, creating short films, dancing, and doing whatever. So, I decided to take theater my first year in college, fell in love with it, and studied it for five years. Then, right out of the gate, I booked the first two auditions I had gone on. It hasn’t always been that smooth since then, but that was confirmation for me. Even then, I couldn’t wait to at least play a doctor. It took me about 15 years to land the first doctor role, and now I can’t get away from them.

Phillips: What was your first doctor role?

Sims: Incidentally, it was on The Resident. I did a couple of episodes. Showrunner Todd Harthan is a great friend of mine, and that was great. Then New Amsterdam came knocking, and that changed my life. It was a great experience.

Phillips: In Little House on the Prairie, you play Dr. Tan, who was a Black doctor in the 1860s and ’70s and basically saved the whole town from dying. What can we learn from him today?

Sims: Especially today, it’s good to learn from Dr. Tan that he loved everybody. He practiced medicine for the Indigenous peoples and everybody else in Kansas and in Oklahoma. He didn’t discriminate. He fought in the Civil War and saved lives there. I hear he opened the first hospital in Oklahoma. The man loved medicine.

There are a few things to learn. Namely, find something to be passionate about, and help everybody, because you can be blessed. It comes back maybe tenfold.

He was a very prolific pioneer who was very wealthy and owned lots of properties. What’s interesting is that when you think about a Black character from that period, we were only a few years removed from slavery. But I discovered in the audition process that this was a true story and that he was a real man. He saved the Ingalls’ lives when they all got malaria, and he delivered baby Caroline. That’s just incredible and such an inspiration, and I can’t wait for the world to get to know him.

Phillips: Speaking of him being a Civil War veteran, how did you take that into account while preparing for the role?

Sims: I wanted to see what state of mind Dr. Tan might have been in. He was a very kind man with a great bedside manner. But I wondered what would be behind his eyes? Especially just a few years removed from slavery and coming out of the Civil War, having seen all the casualties and trauma that would come from that. Is he putting on a smile because he’s actually always happy?

I read some of the books I thought he might have read during that time, like The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass. That was very helpful to get me in his state of mind. And still what came out of it was just his passion. That’s what made him happy.

Phillips: This series has been around for years and has been beloved by generations. Why do you think this reboot is happening now, and what is it about this story that people keep coming back to?

Sims: Shout out to Trip and Rebecca Friendly. Their family made the original series—Trip’s father did—and Trip told me he’d been trying to get this going for about 20 years. Personally, I’m kind of glad it didn’t happen before. This is the time that people need to come together, sit around their televisions as a family, and learn the truth of the Ingalls.

What’s cool about this version of it is that it focuses more on the books. For example, Dr. George Tan wasn’t in the original series, but he’s in the books. It just feels very timely. I was blown away when I watched it. It felt very, very good, and I can’t wait for my mom and everyone else to see it and get those feels, you know?

Phillips: In the first episode, Pa tells Laura that “hope is everything, it’s the only thing.” That seems to be a central theme of the original stories and the show.

Sims: That’s all they could have. They left their family behind and had to go build. Especially Caroline, who’s trusting Charles to head out West, but there’s nothing there initially.

They must build a town from the ground up. It’s dangerous, it’s new, it’s uncharted, but at the same time it’s exciting. And you bring your family—especially your kids. Every character, and probably every human in real life during that time, was affected by the Civil War. All you can have coming out of a time like that and going into some new territory looking for a new life is hope.

Phillips: Did you personally take anything away from Dr. Tan?

Sims: I would say that there were some parallels that I found. I’m very passionate about my craft and, incidentally, medicine. I have this weird thing where I diagnose my family with things. I’m really good with the Google machine, finding out what’s going on! Just give me the symptoms. I love it. That’s Tan. So, I really identified with him.

What has transpired post shooting this season was the other things that I’ve learned about him, like this hospital that he built in Oklahoma. I’m still learning about him, and I can’t wait to dive in more.

Phillips: The kids were incredible, too. Did you get to work with them a lot while shooting?

Sims: Yes, it was fantastic. What’s unfortunate—and this happens on every series—is that you shoot a lot of stuff, and sometimes scenes end up on the cutting room floor. There was a great scene with the Ingalls family and Laura that Dr. Tan has that unfortunately didn’t make it in. I miss that scene because there’s a moment where Laura is fascinated by Dr. Tan and asks, “Do you know Indians?” and her mom is trying to hush her. And Dr. Tan says, “Absolutely, I do. I’ll introduce you to some.”

She’s just so excited. It informs that story of her being very excited and interested in them as the series goes on. There are a couple of moments that didn’t make it in, but there are many others. The kids were fantastic. They are the heart of the show, and they did a great job. Skywalker, Alice, even Wren—who isn’t in the family—were brilliant. They completely blew me away.

Phillips: What’s next for you?

Sims: I love creating, and I have a few projects of my own that I’m really excited about. I’m also directing a short film that Tom Hanks is an executive producer of. I’m an ambassador for the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, which spotlights military caregivers—people who have a wounded or ill veteran at home that they take care of. These people are often forgotten.

I came across this story and decided to tell it. I reached out to Mr. Hanks—we see each other once a year when we host a gala in D.C. to raise money for the foundation—and he’s come on board. I’m going to be shooting that probably in August or September, and I can’t wait.

Phillips: What do you hope audiences take away from this show?

Sims: I hope this brings people together more than any show in recent times, and I think it’s possible. You watch this show through the lens of these young characters, and it’ll make you feel like a kid again. I hope people gather around with their families, and tune-in and binge-watch, rewatch, and get back to loving and being kind once again.

Little House on the Prairie releases on Netflix on July 9, 2026.