Doctor Hollywood

[Blowfeld]

Birmingham physician tends to the stars
Even James Bond gets the sniffles.

When it happens, count on Dr. Scott Grant to be there with a box of Kleenex, especially if Agent 007 should catch cold in Michigan.

The Birmingham doctor has been the production physician for 34 movies that were made in Michigan — including Oz: The Great and Powerful — which is filming at a Raleigh Michigan Studios in Pontiac.

He also served as the set physician for two recent blockbusters, Real Steel and The Ides of March, where in the course of his work he had the opportunity to meet actors George Clooney and Hugh Jackman.

“George Clooney is as nice in person as he comes across in his films,” said Grant. “He is a truly humble person who literally started out with five bucks in Hollywood. That's why he's so charitable — he remembers his roots.”

And should the honchos in Hollywood ever decide to make a movie about a local kid who stuck around and became a hometown doctor, they can look to Grant for inspiration.

But first they'll need to cast his dog, Mitzi.

The doctor and his dog

Grant, 45, a 1984 graduate of Groves High School, located his practice in Birmingham in October 1996, in a building on Brown Street near the Townsend Hotel.

“I decided I wanted to work close to home and in the community I grew up in,” he said. “I probably have a patient or two on almost every street in Birmingham.”

One of them, Ruth Plew, turns 100 on Thursday. She's lived in Birmingham since 1943 and Grant has made many a house call in recent years to make sure she's fit.

“I even brought Mitzi to her house on a few occasions,” he said.

Mitzi is a yellow Lab and a constant office companion. Grant adopted her in 2010 from an animal shelter in Southgate. He concedes the two of them are practically inseparable.

“You can have the worst day in the world, you go home and cuddle with your dog and it all goes away,” he said. “They love you for you.”

Mitzi is his third dog. There was Mandi, another yellow Lab who was given to him as a present in 1998 and had recently passed away. Then there's Chelsea, who Grant raised and spent nearly two years training so she could become an official Leader Dog for the Blind.

Chelsea is now with Connie, a 65-year-old blind woman who lives in Arizona. Every year she sends Grant a letter and some photos of Chelsea, making ‘dad' feel like a proud papa.

Hello, Hollywood

After the Michigan film credits were passed in 2008, Grant got a call from a studio in Hollywood asking if he would be the production physician for the movie, Youth in Revolt, starring Michael Cera. Grant was already somewhat familiar with the celebrity scene, having treated some rock stars and movie stars while they were staying at the Townsend.

“These movies are insured for millions and millions of dollars and there has to be a production physician linked to them,” he said. “My job was basically to give everyone on the set a full physical and clear them to work.”

On the set of Oz, he joked around with Mila Kunis and other cast members. Michelle Williams, who plays the good witch Glinda in the movie, opted to rent a house in Birmingham during filming and is occasionally spotted around town walking her dog.

Rachel Weisz is also in the movie and was staying at the Townsend. It was during that time that Grant happened to meet her husband, Daniel Craig, who's making a name for himself in the James Bond series.

“He was here to keep his wife company,” Grant said. “We sat around and he asked me about weekend trips in Michigan ... we also talked about scuba diving and why I'm still single at 45.”

As for Jackman, the doctor wants to assure the public that the man starring in Real Steel is indeed the real deal.

“You can tell the difference between the phonies and the people who genuinely look at a movie production as one big family — and that characterizes Hugh Jackman,” said Grant.

“He never hid in his trailer. He was always out there roaming around. He ate with the cast and crew and was just a very personable guy.”

Regardless of how enticing it might sound, Grant said he makes sure to maintain his role as a doctor and not a fan. No autographs or celebrity photographs for the office wall.

“They have to be able to confide in me without worrying about something turning up on Twitter,” he said. “The bond between a doctor and his patients is sacred. You're not a family member, but you are an extended family member.”

Family doctor

At the end of the day, Grant would rather talk about Ruth and her upcoming birthday. He even sent photos to Willard Scott on The Today Show, hoping she would get mentioned.

“So many of these patients have been with me since the beginning,” he said. “I know their family dynamics, where they went to school and what they did on vacation. All of that can come into play when formulating a diagnosis.”

He's the hometown doctor who decided to stay right at home, in Birmingham.

End of story.