The Juiciest Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Grey's Anatomy

For over a decade Grey’s Anatomy has given fans many a season of drama-packed, nail-biting entertainment. Here is a list of the scintillating behind-the-scenes facts you didn’t know about your favorite medical drama.

Cast Troubles

We’d all like to think that the cast of Grey’s Anatomy is the best of friends, unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Isaiah Washington, who played Dr Burke, and Patrick Dempsey, Dr McDreamy, admitted to getting into a heated argument on set. At one point Washington allegedly grabbed Dempsey.

Real Life Cow Organs

The show has gone to some pretty extreme lengths to make sure surgeries look legitimate. Few people know that real surgeons are used for the close-up shots of surgeries. The organs are actually real cow organs, the brains featured in the neurosurgery scenes are lamb brains while the blood used in the dramatic surgery scenes is a mixture of red Jell-O, chicken fat, and real blood.

Cast Change Up

The characters we have grown to know and love could have been cast very, very differently. Sandra Oh, who expertly played Christina Yang, actually auditioned to play the role of Miranda Bailey. Rob Lowe was initially offered the iconic role of Dr Derek Shepherd but turned it down, while Isaiah Wahington originally auditioned to star as Dr McDreamy.

Crazy Numbers

The show is undoubtedly one of TV’s most popular medical dramas of all time. Grey’s is credited as the longest-running scripted primetime show currently airing on ABC. ‘It’s the End of the World’ is the most-watched episode of the series. It boasted a whopping 16.5 million viewers.

Main Cast Members Leaving For Serious Reason

Earlier this month, ABC announced Grey’s Anatomy actresses Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew would leave the show after the current season. That news prompted critics to suggest it was because their costar, Ellen Pompeo, negotiated a salary raise that would pay her up to $20M a year for the show. She said she wouldn’t have any further comments on the issue. But on a recent episode of The Ellen Show, Pompeo opened up to Ellen DeGeneres….

Pompeo Responds

Ellen Pompeo responded to rumors on the Ellen Show: “I think as women, sometimes we’re afraid to ask, we’re afraid to be vocal, we’re taught not to be,” Pompeo said. “They like us quiet, as we’ve seen from this administration. So I think it’s really important to encourage each other — and encourage other women — to stand up and be strong and know that we will be okay and we have each other’s backs.”

“Shame on you, not me”

She further went on to say: “If you knew these two women the way I know them they would not approve of all this nastiness.” So does this mean they are leaving for different reasons? What have fans said?

Fans Outraged

Fans are, understandably, upset about the characters leaving. In the time since the departures were announced, more than 30,000 fans have signed a petition protesting Capshaw and Drew’s dismissal. Pompeo went on to reply to a fan by saying that while they’re allowed to be upset, they shouldn’t spread hateful words around the internet.

April’s Exit Story Line

She’s been coping with a crisis of faith, which began where all the patients died, by drowning herself in alcohol and sleeping with surgical intern Dr. Vikram Roy. The storyline previously suggested a stint in rehab, could this lead to a fatal crash? Her death would certainly give fan-favorite Jesse Williams (Dr. Jackson Avery) a hard time.

A Dramatic Exit

It seems Isaiah Washington had quite the temper. In a widely talked about scandal, Washington used a homophobic slur while on set, T.R. Knight, who played Dr George O’Malley, apparently felt that slur was directed at him. The incident ultimately ended with Washington being fired. “I can neither defend nor explain my behavior,” Washington said in a public statement. “I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I’ve asked for help.”

Stellar Star

We all know that the success of the show is carried by Miss Grey, wonderfully played by the fantastic Ellen Pompeo. Rhimes and Pompeo have a deal; the show goes on as long Pompeo is willing to play the role. In 2017, the actress signed a deal that would make her dramatic television’s highest-earning actress. She roughly earns about $20 million a year from her Grey’s salary.

Shocking Goodbyes

Grey’s fans have said sad goodbyes to many of the show’s most prominent characters. Rhimes is infamous for not thinking twice about killing off a fan favorite. When lovable Lexie Grey was killed in a wildly dramatic plane crash in Season 8, Chyler Leigh, who played Meredith’s younger sister stayed under the actual wreckage for the better part of two straight days in order to film the scene. Talk about commitment!

Emmy Scandal

In 2007 Katherine Heigl won the Emmy award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as fragile and beautiful Izzy. In a dramatic move, Heigl opted to remove her name from Emmy consideration in the following year. With a spectacular jab at the show and its writers, Heigl said, “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.” Needless to say, the move damaged her relationship with the cast and crew and may have had something to do with her being written out of the show.

Online Controversy

Jesse Williams, who plays Jackson Avery was once a fan favorite but an off-screen move abruptly cost him his popularity. After accepting a Humanitarian Award in 2016, Williams gave an impassioned speech about racism. That speech went viral but some people’s reaction was far from positive. The speech was met with so much controversy that some fans started a petition to have Williams fired from the show. The online petition got 28,000 signatures and accused Williams of being a racist who encouraged hate speech. Luckily for Williams, the controversy died down and had little effect on his career.

Drama, Drama, Drama!

One of the most devastating character deaths had to be the abrupt end of the beloved, dreamy Dr Derek Shepherd. Fans were absolutely gutted when Grey’s husband was unceremoniously killed off. There are multiple rumors about why Dempsey left the show. One juicy theory is that Rhimes was not a fan of Patrick Dempsey. The creator is well-known for writing out the characters played by actors she doesn’t get along with. In a passive-aggressive response to the drama, Dempsey was quoted saying, “[Shonda] loves being provocative and that’s fine for who she is.”

Diversity Matters

Casting diversity has recently been making headlines in Hollywood. The industry is under fire for underrepresenting minorities, opting to cast blonde and blue-eyed actors and actresses in roles which have historically been played by people of color. This is not an issue that Rhimes takes lightly. The award-winning creator of the show has said she uses a color-blind method of casting. She doesn’t give any of her characters last names to ensure anyone who is cast earns the role regardless of race and sometimes even gender.

Major Plot Twist

Rhimes is known for keeping her cast of actors on their toes in order to capture some genuine onscreen reactions. So much so, that she sometimes only reveals major plot twists just as the scene is about to be shot. In one of season’s one most dramatic turns, Meredith’s growing love interest, McDreamy, turns out be married. Apparently, Pompeo and Dempsey were kept in the dark about the twist. Patrick wasn’t clued up until halfway through the season, while Ellen didn’t know until it was time to film the finale.

Call an Ambulance!

Sometimes art imitates art but this was a case of real life surprisingly mirroring the show’s dramatic storyline. Sarah Drew, who played April Kepner, was indeed pregnant. In a bizarre true-life twist, Drew actually went into labor just 13 hours after filming the scene where Kepner gives birth. Crazy, huh?

Teacher’s Pet

It’s sometimes difficult to remember that before Hollywood stars landed their big breaks they were once just regular average joes. Fans of the show may know him as hunky Jackson Avery, but Jesse Williams was a High School teacher before he landed his big role on Grey’s. The actor taught American studies, African studies and English. It’s safe to say his dreamy blue eyes may have been a little distracting for his female students.

Off Screen Nightmare

Melissa George played the minor but captivating role of Dr Sadie. Once George exited the show, she was involved in quite a bit of off-screen scandal. George was actually accused of kidnapping her sons during a custody battle with her French lover. George had also pressed charges against her partner for assault after showing up at a Parisian police station with a bruised and battered face, allegedly the result of a row with her then-husband. The court and custody battle is still ongoing.

Furious George

In yet another off-screen scandal, this actor claimed to have left the show on bad terms. T. R. Knight’s character George received a nasty send-off when he was tragically hit by a bus. Reportedly, the real reason Knight left the show was because he had made the decision to quit the series. The actor was allegedly angered that he wasn’t getting enough screen time. He was also quoted saying there was a “breakdown of communication” between himself and Shonda Rhimes, and he felt he no longer understood his character. It appears Knight’s exit was a particularly bitter one.

Cheating Rumors

Jesse Williams simply can’t escape off-screen drama. In between getting blasted for his supposedly racist comments, Williams has also experienced his fair share of criticism surrounding his real-life romances. There were many rumors that Williams was actually cheating on his wife with his co-star Minka Kelly. Just months before the couple came out as officially dating, Williams had split up with his wife of many years. The star refused to confirm that the split had been a result of his supposed infidelity.

Swift is a Fan

Here’s a little fun fact that might just lighten the mood. We all know who Taylor Swift is but you might not know that she is a die-hard fan of Grey’s Anatomy. The superstar singer actually paid a real-life tribute to the show by naming her beloved cat Meredith after the medical drama’s leading lady. Cute!

The Final Choice

It might be difficult to believe but Grey’s Anatomy almost went by a different title. Before the show went into production there were multiple titles suggested for the hit drama. The show was almost called Surgeons or Complications. Producers finally went with Grey’s Anatomy, a reference to Gray’s Anatomy, a popular human anatomy textbook by Henry Gray.

Casting Calls

Fans might be shocked to find out that some of the show’s beloved characters almost didn’t make it on to the series as main characters. Kate Walsh, who plays Addison Shepherd, was only supposed to appear on a few episodes of the show but writers were so impressed with her acting chops that she earned herself a recurring major role. Dr Alex Karev, played by Justin Chambers, was only supposed to appear in the pilot episode before he became one of the show’s leads.

Saving Lives

Some fans might think that the medical cases featured on the show are a little far-fetched but the writers use real medical journals as sources of inspiration. The show actually saved a viewers life. Actress Debbie Allen, who plays Catherina Avery, once revealed that a friend discovered she was ill after she realized she shared many symptoms with a patient who was featured on the show. She would have never gone to the doctor if it hadn’t been for the medical accuracy of the series.

Happily Married

He might play a ladies man in the show but Justin Chambers is actually a committed family man. You might be surprised to hear that the actor has five kids and a wife of ten years. It’s a rare thing for a Hollywood marriage to last that long. The famous couple tied the knot back in 1993 and have been going strong ever since.

Clever Cover Up

The easiest thing to do when an actress falls pregnant is to write it into the script of the show – or so we thought. Grey’s writers got particularly creative when working around Ellen Pompeo’s real-life pregnancy. Instead of having Meredith fall pregnant, the writers had the character donate a liver so that the actress’s growing baby bump could be hidden beneath the covers of Meredith’s hospital bed. Smart move!

Blonde Bailey

One of Grey’s most enduringly loved characters has to be Miranda Bailey. She’s sassy, emotional, talented and always offers the audience a few witty one-liners. A little-known fact is that Bailey was supposed to be cast as someone very different. She was the only character who was written with a description. Bailey was supposed to be a ‘tiny blonde with curls’. Thankfully, the role went to the brilliant Chandra Wilson.

Mind Bender

In a devastating plot twist, Arizona, played by Jessica Capshaw, loses one of her legs in an accident. The prosthetic she goes on to use was so believable that some fans actually thought it was real. The actress actually walked on a real prosthetic with her own leg tied behind her. The talented visual effects team did the rest.