Percival Ulysses "Perry" Cox, M.D.,[1] is a fictional character played by John C. McGinley on the American television comedy drama Scrubs.

John C. McGinley, Zach Braff, and Donald Faison were the only cast members who returned as regulars for Season 9.

Cox is a sarcastic, cynical misanthrope who has a quick wit normally expressed through frequent and sometimes very long rants.

[2] At the beginning of the series, he is an attending physician at Sacred Heart Hospital; he is later promoted to residency director and, by the eighth season, to chief of medicine.

He treats virtually everyone in the hospital with derision, especially his longtime nemesis, chief of medicine Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins).

He is extremely narcissistic and egocentric; when named by a magazine as the best doctor in the city, he lines up every staff member beneath him, as well as his ex-wife, to praise him or risk a physical reprisal from the Janitor (Neil Flynn).

He temporarily holds the position until the board finds a replacement, Dr. Taylor Maddox (Courteney Cox).

[6] In the Season 2 DVD commentary of "His Story", series creator Bill Lawrence stated that Cox always knows if someone is standing behind him, as well as who it is, without turning around to check.

According to a 2006 interview with McGinley, Cox's reason for hating Jackman may be that Bill Lawrence envies the actor's talent.

McGinley is a Red Wings fan and a close friend of former Detroit defenceman Chris Chelios, whose name is on the back of Cox's jersey.

[10] After making a mistake that results in three deaths, a guilt-ridden Cox goes to work drunk and falls into a deep depression.

Dorian female nicknames (e.g. "Tiffany", "Jennifer", "Carol", "Betsy", "Lindsey") and regularly calling him "Newbie".

[13] Despite his contempt for Turk in early seasons, Cox develops a restrained level of respect for him, and even occasionally gets along with and relates to him.

In the Season 6 episode, "My Road To Nowhere", when complications are found with his unborn child he insists that Turk assist with the surgery.

They disagree constantly about the best way to provide care, with Cox advocating for patients and Kelso adhering to the hospital's bottom line.

[14] While Cox has had limited interactions with veteran nurse Laverne Roberts (Aloma Wright), his cynicism drives him to mock her strong religious beliefs on occasion.

This culminates in Cox confronting her about a seemingly "miraculous" accident, unwilling to accept it as divine intervention.

He immediately begins berating the series' new protagonist, Lucy Bennett (Kerry Bishé), and takes an interest in one of his students, Drew Suffin (Michael Mosley).

[28] The marriage appears to have started out strongly, but went downhill after Jordan cheated on him with Dr. Peter Fisher (Jay Mohr).

[29] They were originally to have divorced after their first child died in infancy, but this plot point was omitted because the network decided that it was too dark a twist in the story.

[30] Later in the series, it is revealed that Sacred Heart's incompetent lawyer Ted Buckland (Sam Lloyd) did not submit the divorce papers properly, so Cox and Jordan have been married during the entire run of the show.

In later seasons, Cox quietly resumes wearing his wedding ring, and Jordan soon acquiesces to the marriage title after the birth of their second child, and it is implied that they have remarried.

[31] Cox is best friends with Jordan's brother, Ben (Brendan Fraser), and is hit hard when he is diagnosed with leukemia; he is initially too afraid to treat him because he fears he will lose him.