List of Grey's Anatomy cast members
Grey's Anatomy is an American television medical drama that debuted on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), as a mid-season replacement for Boston Legal on March 27, 2005. While creating the show, producers put an emphasis on the casting process.[1] The series has aired for sixteen seasons, and focuses on the fictional lives of surgical interns and residents, as they gradually evolve into seasoned doctors, while trying to maintain personal lives. The show's premise originated with Shonda Rhimes, who serves as an executive producer, along with Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, and Allan Heinberg.[2] It is primarily filmed in Los Angeles, California.[3]
The series was created to be racially diverse, utilizing a color-blind casting technique.[4] All roles for the series are cast without the characters' races being pre-specified, in keeping with Rhimes' vision of diversity.[4] The series' protagonist, Meredith Grey, is portrayed by Ellen Pompeo. Pompeo starred as the leading role in Moonlight Mile, which explains the significance of her being cast as Meredith.[5] Meredith is assigned to work under Miranda Bailey the only character developed with a racial description in mind, who is portrayed by Chandra Wilson. On Wilson's addition to the cast Rhimes reported, "[Wilson] is exactly who Miranda is." The other interns working with Meredith under Bailey are along with Cristina Yang, George O'Malley, Izzie Stevens, and Alex Karev played by Sandra Oh, T.R. Knight, Katherine Heigl and Justin Chambers respectively. Chambers' character was not originally part of the pilot but was added later as the fifth and final intern. Oh was initially brought to play the character of Bailey, but pressed to read for the role of Cristina instead at the audition.[6] Many actors read for the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd including Isaiah Washington, but when Patrick Dempsey read for the part, "he was just perfect", according to Rhimes. Washington was cast as Burke, because the original actor to play Burke had to withdraw.[7][4]
The second season marked the introduction of Eric Dane as leading plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Sloan and Sara Ramirez as ortho-resident Dr. Callie Torres. They were initially cast as recurring characters, but both were given star billing at the opening of the third season. Ramirez was cast after ABC executives offered her a role in the network show of her choice, Dane had previously auditioned unsuccessfully for a role in the pilot episode.[8][9] Kate Walsh also joined the show in season two, after making a guest appearance in season one as Dr. Addison Montgomery the estranged wife of Derek.[10] and leaves the show at the end of the third, in order to launch her own spin-off medical drama Private Practice.[11] Burke departs at the conclusion of the third season, and is replaced by Erica Hahn played by Brooke Smith, who leaves the show during the fifth. Chyler Leigh, first appears in the third as the half-sister of Meredith, Lexie Grey.
Kevin McKidd playing Dr. Owen Hunt was signed as a series regular after originally being cast for a specific story arc joins the cast in season 5.[12] Jessica Capshaw is given series regular status at the beginning of the sixth season after playing peds-attending Arizona Robbins in the season 5. Following O'Malley's death and Stevens' departure, Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew joined the cast as new residents from Mercy West Jackson Avery and April Kepner both having made their series debuts as recurring characters in the sixth season. Kim Raver, who was cast as recurring character Dr. Teddy Altman in the sixth season, was given star billing later in the season.[13]
In the tenth season, the new batch of interns introduced during the ninth season were made series regulars including Camilla Luddington as Dr. Jo Wilson, Gaius Charles as Dr. Shane Ross, Jerrika Hinton as Dr. Stephanie Edwards, Tessa Ferrer as Dr. Leah Murphy with the exception of Tina Majorino as Dr. Heather Brooks (who died during the season 9 finale). Caterina Scorsone was upgraded to a series regular to continue her role as Dr. Amelia Shepherd, one of Dr. Derek Shepherd's four sisters. Scorsone previously played Dr. Amelia Shepherd since the seventh season as a recurring role. Kelly McCreary as Dr. Maggie Pierce was promoted to a series regular after being credited as guest-starring until the eleventh episode of eleventh season. The cast has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series,[14] a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama,[15] and numerous Primetime Emmy Award nominations for individual cast members.[16]
Cast
Main
| Cast | Character | Occupation | Seasons | First episode | Last episode | No. of episodes (credited) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | Recurring | Guest | ||||||
| Ellen Pompeo | Meredith Grey | Chief of General Surgery | 1– | "A Hard Day's Night" (1.01) | 363 | |||
| Sandra Oh | Cristina Yang | Attending Cardiothoracic Surgeon | 1–10 | "Fear (Of the Unknown)" (10.24) | 229 | |||
| Katherine Heigl | Izzie Stevens | Surgical Resident | 1–6 | "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" (6.12) | 123 | |||
| Justin Chambers | Alex Karev | Chief of Pediatric Surgery | 1–16 | "Leave a Light On" (16.16) | 358 | |||
| T. R. Knight | George O'Malley | Surgical Resident | 1–5 | "Now or Never" (5.24) | 108 | |||
| Chandra Wilson | Miranda Bailey | Chief of Surgery | 1– | 362 | ||||
| James Pickens, Jr. | Richard Webber | Attending General Surgeon, Residency Director | 1– | 363 | ||||
| Isaiah Washington | Preston Burke | Attending Cardiothoracic Surgeon | 1–3 | 10 | "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (10.22) | 63 | ||
| Patrick Dempsey | Derek Shepherd | Attending Neurosurgeon | 1–11 | "You're My Home" (11.25) | 256 | |||
| Kate Walsh | Addison Montgomery | Attending OB/GYN, Attending Neonatal Surgery, Attending Fetal Surgery, | 2-3 | 2 | 1, 4-8 | "Who's Zoomin' Who?" (1.09) | "If/Then" (8.13) | 59 |
| Sara Ramirez | Callie Torres | Chief of Orthopedic Surgery | 3-12 | 2 | "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (2.19) | "Family Affair" (12.24) | 243 | |
| Eric Dane | Mark Sloan | Chief of Plastic Surgery, Attending Otolaryngologist | 3-9 | 2 | "Yesterday" (2.18) | "Remember the Time" (9.02) | 143 | |
| Brooke Smith | Erica Hahn | Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery | 4-5 | 2 | 3 | "17 Seconds" (2.25) | "Rise Up" (5.07) | 25 |
| Chyler Leigh | Lexie Grey | Surgical Resident | 4-8 | 3 | "Testing 1-2-3" (3.24) | "Flight" (8.24) | 119 | |
| Kevin McKidd | Owen Hunt | Chief of Trauma Surgery | 5– | 5 | "Dream a Little Dream of Me, Part 1" (5.01) | 283 | ||
| Jessica Capshaw | Arizona Robbins | Attending Pediatric Surgeon, Attending Fetal Surgeon | 6-14 | 5 | "Wish You Were Here" (5.11) | "All of Me" (14.24) | 226 | |
| Kim Raver | Teddy Altman | Co-Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery | 6-8, 15- | 6, 14 | "New History" (6.09) | 112 | ||
| Sarah Drew | April Kepner | Attending Trauma Surgeon | 7-14 | 6 | "Invasion" (6.05) | "All of Me" (14.24) | 202 | |
| Jesse Williams | Jackson Avery | Chief of Plastic Surgery, Attending ENT | 7- | 6 | 256 | |||
| Jason George | Ben Warren | Firefighter | 12-14 | 6, 8-11, 15- | 7 | "State of Love and Trust" (6.13) | 133 | |
| Caterina Scorsone | Amelia Shepherd | Chief of Neurosurgery | 11- | 10 | 7-8 | "Superfreak" (7.03) | 149 | |
| Camilla Luddington | Jo Karev | Attending General Surgeon | 10- | 9 | "Going, Going, Gone" (9.01) | 189 | ||
| Gaius Charles | Shane Ross | Surgical Resident | 10 | 9 | "Fear (Of the Unknown)" (10.24) | 47 | ||
| Jerrika Hinton | Stephanie Edwards | Surgical Resident | 10-13 | 9 | "Ring of Fire" (13.24) | 120 | ||
| Tessa Ferrer | Leah Murphy | Surgical Resident | 10 | 9, 13 | "It Only Gets Much Worse" (13.13) | 46 | ||
| Kelly McCreary | Maggie Pierce | Co-Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery | 11- | 10 | "Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right" (10.23) | 144 | ||
| Giacomo Gianniotti | Andrew DeLuca | Surgical Resident | 12- | 11-12 | "Time Stops" (11.24) | 120 | ||
| Martin Henderson | Nathan Riggs | Attending Cardiothoracic Surgeon | 12-14 | "The Me Nobody Knows" (12.06) | "Danger Zone (14.05) | 48 | ||
| Jake Borelli | Levi Schmitt | Surgical Intern | 16- | 14-15 | "Break Down the House" (14.01) | 59 | ||
| Greg Germann | Thomas Koracick | Chief of Hospitals at Catherine Fox Foundation, Attending Neurosurgeon | 16- | 14-15 | "Go Big or Go Home" (14.03) | 43 | ||
| Chris Carmack | Atticus Lincoln | Chief of Orthopedic Surgery | 16- | 15 | "With a Wonder and a Wild Desire" (15.01) | 41 | ||
| Richard Flood | Cormac Hayes | Chief of Pediatric Surgery | 17- | 16 | "Let's All Go to the Bar" (16.09) | 9 | ||
| Anthony Hill | Winston Ndugu | Attending Cardiothoracic Surgeon | 17- | 16 | "Love of My Life" (16.19) | 1 | ||
Recurring
References
- Rhodes, Joe (April 14, 2005). "Thriving Ratings for a New Patient on ABC". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- "About the Show". Grey's Anatomy. American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
- Grey's Anatomy Season One DVD: Commentary Feature. Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 2005.
- Fogel, Matthew (May 8, 2005). "'Grey's Anatomy' Goes Colorblind". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
- "Moonlight Mile Cast". TV Guide. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- "Grey's Anatomy - Sandra Oh's Audition (Paley Center, 2006)". YouTube. 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- "Chicago as 'Grey' area?". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- Yuan, Jada (2006-09-25). "Q&A With 'Grey's Anatomy' Star Sara Ramirez - New York Magazine". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- "Q & A With Eric Dane: A Preview of the Grey's Anatomy Magazine Interview". TV Fanatic. February 22, 2007. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- "ABC drops Washington from Grey's Anatomy". CBC News. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- Ryan, Maureen (February 21, 2007). "Paging Dr. Montgomery: She's starring in the new 'Grey's Anatomy' spinoff". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- "Kevin McKidd Joins 'Grey's Anatomy' Cast As Series Regular". Access Hollywood. 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
- Vary, Adam B. (2009-10-23). "Kim Raver becomes series regular on 'Grey's Anatomy'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- "The 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Screen Actors Guild. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
- "List of Golden Globe Nominees and Winners". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- "Grey's Anatomy". Emmy Awards. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
External links
- List of Grey's Anatomy cast members at the Internet Movie Database
- List of Grey's Anatomy cast members at TV.com
