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Grey's Anatomy is that one show that never seems to end. You watch one single episode and Boom! You're sucked inside the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
The Grey's cast is one of the most important reasons why the show feels like such a roller coaster. The cast seems to be so powerful that even when one of them exits the show, their presence is still felt and missed long after they've bid their goodbyes.
But who are the people who make the walls of the Hospital feel alive in Grey's Anatomy? Here is a list of all the important doctors and surgeons who bring this ABC medical drama to life.
Grey's Anatomy cast and characters: Here's who brings the ABC medical drama to life
Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey:
Grey's Anatomy is honestly Meredith Grey. Grey's basically follows her journey from being a broken intern to being a respected surgeon. Meredith, who entered the Seattle Grace Hospital with trauma from her mother, became someone who literally survived everything life decided to throw at her.
A plane crash, losing Derek, almost drowning, all of it. Ellen Pompeo made Meredith Grey feel so real because she showed the soft and strong together.
Ellen Pompeo is also known for: Catch Me If You Can & Good American Family.
Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey:
Miranda Bailey from Grey's Anatomy is the one who raised every single intern. She started super strict and never let anyone get lazy. On Grey's, she slowly became the heart of the hospital. She is the one who taught Meredith, Cristina, George, Izzie and Alex.
She then became Chief of Surgery and later ran the Residency Program. Bailey is fierce and is also deeply protective. Wilson plays her with this energy, where she looks tough, but her heart is always in the right place. Grey's Anatomy without Bailey would not be Grey's to begin with.
Chandra Wilson is also known for: Station 19 & Accidental Friendship.
James Pickens Jr as Richard Webber:
Just like Bailey, Grey's Anatomy basically runs on history and Richard Webber is that history. Grey's always reminds us that Richard has seen every version of this hospital. His affair with Ellis Grey, his alcoholism, his ups and downs, he's been through it.
Richard was originally the Chief of Surgery when the show began and he always mentored the interns. He has carried more pain and more guilt than anyone else on Grey's Anatomy. James Pickens Jr plays him with calm and wisdom. Richard Webber is the soul of Grey's because he knows every dark corner and every bright memory inside that building.
James Pickens is also known for: Just Wright & Dead Presidents
Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt:
Owen Hunt entered Grey's Anatomy as a trauma surgeon fresh from war. Grey's showed his PTSD, his struggles to adapt to normal life, his messy relationships, and so much more. He's also someone who's always wanted a stable family, which pushed him into making complicated choices.
Owen became the Head of Trauma on Grey's and sometimes he is impulsive but is mostly always loyal to his patients. Kevin McKidd's portrayal of Owen Hunt as an expression of trauma, guilt, duty and development.
Kevin McKidd is also known for: Trainspotting & The Last Legion.
Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang:
Cristina Yang is one of the most iconic cardio-thoracic surgeons on Grey's Anatomy. She was always the sharp and ambitious one. She was never sorry about choosing herself or surgery first. Burke, Ownen, and any other relationship she had were all secondary to her work and she made sure everyone around her knew that.
When Cristina left Grey's in Season 10 to run a research hospital in Switzerland, it felt as though a chunk of the show had been taken away with her exit. Sandra Oh made Cristina Yang one of the most iconic surgeons and the show has never had a replacement for that kind of drive.
Sandra Oh is also known for: Killing Eve & Umma
Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd:
Derek Shepherd is McDreamy. Grey's Anatomy literally gave him that nickname because he looked just like a dream and also because he was just so good at neurosurgery. Derek and Meredith basically carried the romantic core of Grey's Anatomy for so long.
His bitter friendship with Mark Sloan, his marital issues with Addison, and his kids with Meredith were all huge arcs for him. His death in Season 11 destroyed fans and Grey's changed forever after Derek had been killed off.
Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd felt like someone who always believed every single day is a beautiful day to save lives which is why McDreamy is perhaps an apt nickname for the character.
Patrick Dempsey is also known for: Enchanted & Made of Honor
Justin Chambers as Alex Karev:
Alex Karev entered Grey's Anatomy as a rude, sarcastic intern whom nobody at first liked. Grey's slowly peeled him open layer by layer. He ended up becoming one of the warmest pediatric surgeons ever. Alex had a relationship with Izzie and Jo Wilson.
However, his exit in Season 16 of Grey's Anatomy shocked every Grey's fan. There was some sort of closure, though, as he left Seattle to reunite with Izzie and their kids, that she had been using embryos.
Justin Chambers is also known for: Southern Belles & The Wedding Planner.
Katherine Heigl as Izzie Stevens:
Izzie Stevens was sunshine in human form when Grey's Anatomy began. Grey's used her emotional nature to show how medicine is not only the clinical type. Her love story with Denny broke millions across the world. Her cancer storyline was also one of the most painful arcs ever seen on Grey's.
Izzie eventually left the show in Season 6. Later, Grey's Anatomy revealed that she had twins using the embryos with Alex. She made a lot of mistakes but also cared deeply inside the walls of Seattle Grace.
Katherine Heigl is also known for: 27 Dresses & Knocked Up.
T.R. Knight as George O’Malley:
George O'Malley was the soft-hearted baby of the OG Grey's Anatomy intern group. Grey's painted him as this sweet, awkward kind of guy who just wanted to be good. His marriage to Callie, however, was rough. His crush on Meredith was also awkward but relatable.
Then Grey's Anatomy decided to give him the most heroic death ever. He jumped in front of a bus to save someone and with that, the Season 5 ending left fans feeling devastated. T.R. Knight made George feel like the friend you root for, even when he constantly doubts himself.
T.R. Knight is also known for: Adam the First & The Bravest Knight.
Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres:
Callie Torres came to Grey's Anatomy in Season 2. The show then allowed her to grow into the Head of Ortho. Callie's arc was huge. She had relationships with George, Mark, and then a storyline that also explored her sexuality with Erica and Arizona.
She had a daughter named Sofia who then became her world. Ramirez played Callie with a free and bold spirit. Grey's Anatomy painted Callie as someone who fought to belong. In Season 12, she decided to leave Seattle for a fresh new start in New York with her daughter.
Sara Ramirez is also known for: You've Got Mail & And Just Like That...
Eric Dane as Mark Sloan:
Mark Sloan was McSteamy. Grey's Anatomy made him the attractive, hot, confident plastic surgeon who had an affair with Derek's wife, Addison. But slowly, Grey's turned Mark into a man who actually loved deeply.
His relationship with Lexi Grey was intense. His death in a plane crash in Season 9 was heartbreaking. Eric Dane gave us a Mark Sloan that was funny, charming, cocky, but also surprisingly sincere at heart. The show used Mark Sloan as a poster to show that people can grow beyond their worst choices and become someone who values love more than their ego.
Eric Dane is also known for: Euphoria & Countdown.
Chyler Leigh as Lexie Grey:
Lexie Grey, "Little Grey" to her half-sister Meredith, was a surgical resident known for her remarkable eidetic memory, earning her the nickname "Lexipedia". She entered the series in Season 3 as a bright-eyed, sometimes insecure, intern desperate to form a sisterly bond with a reluctant and "dark and twisty" Meredith.
After a tumultuous period following the hospital shooting, which triggered her PTSD, she emerged as a confident, talented surgeon with an aptitude for both plastic and neurosurgery.
In the tragic Grey's Anatomy Season 8 finale plane crash, Lexie was crushed under debris and died, but not before Mark professed his enduring love for her, telling her they were "meant to be" in her final moments.
The hospital was later renamed Grey Sloan Memorial in Lexi and Mark's honor.
Chyler Leigh is also known for: Not Another Teen Movie & Supergirl.
Kate Walsh as Addison Montgomery:
Addison Forbes Montgomery, a double board-certified OB/GYN and neonatal surgeon, made a dramatic entrance in the Season 1 finale as Derek Shepherd's estranged wife, famously introducing herself with, "You must be the woman who's been screwing my husband."
After her marriage to Derek officially ended, she felt she had little left in Seattle and departed for Los Angeles to join a private practice with her medical school friends, a move that launched the spin-off series Private Practice. The Grey's Anatomy spin-off explored her journey to motherhood through the adoption of her son, Henry, and a stable marriage to Dr. Jake Reilly.
Kate Walsh is also known for: Private Practice & 13 Reasons Why.
Sarah Drew as April Kepner:
April Kepner joined Grey's Anatomy during the Mercy West merger. Grey's first painted her as someone who is always nervous and annoying, but she slowly became one of the strongest trauma surgeons. Her faith was a huge part of her identity, too.
April married Jackson, and they had their complicated ups and downs and eventually ended up splitting. April then left the hospital (and the show) to help homeless communities.
Sarah Drew played April like a girl who was at first judged but gradually proved she deserved respect.
Sarah Drew is also known for: Mistletoe Murders & Christmas in Vienna
Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery:
Jackson Avery came in with the Mercy West group merger too. He was a plastic surgeon and was always calm. He was in a relationship with April and they even married and had a child together.
His exit in season 17 was emotional but it was a hopeful move ahead for the character. He left Seattle to move to Boston to lead the Catherine Fox Foundation and fight against inequality in medicine. Grey's Anatomy used Jackson to push forward conversations about justice, race, and purpose.
Jesse Williams is also known for: Hotel Costiera & The Cabin in the Woods
Alexis Floyd as Simone Griffith:
Simone Griffith is a newer resident in Grey's Anatomy (Season 19). Grey's started her off with her very own personal tragedy. Her mother died in the same hospital where she now works in. Simone is smart and nervous but she's also pretty deep as a person.
She struggles with family pressure and her romance with Lucas was one to keep an eye out for. Grey's Anatomy, through Simone, showed us what it means to face old wounds right where they originally happened and still grow anyway.
Alexis Floyd is also known for: Inventing Anna & The Bold Type.
Harry Shum Jr as Benson “Blue” Kwan:
Blue Kwan is someone who is sharp but also someone who is highly competitive. Grey's painted him as someone who needs to be number one at all possible times. He has debt and a complicated past involving a fiancée who later also becomes a patient.
Blue jokes a lot but it is partly a shield. Grey's Anatomy used Blue to show the pressure of being perfect. His journey is about learning that care is not just a skill but also softness and actually seeing people beyond a doctor's chart.
Harry Shum Jr. is also known for: Crazy Rich Asians & Glee.
Niko Terho as Lucas Adams:
Lucas Adams is an underdog who wants to prove that he belongs. He struggles with academics and later reveals that he has ADHD which makes him constantly behind.
Grey’s Anatomy uses Lucas to show that talent is not always loud. Sometimes talent is quiet and kind and learns a slower way. Lucas is still shaping himself inside Grey Sloan and his story feels like a seed still growing.
Niko Terho is also known for: The Thing About Harry & Sno Babies
Grey’s Anatomy has lived through more than twenty seasons because the characters feel like real humans who make mistakes and still get back up. Grey’s always finds a way to keep the hospital beating with new interns and old legends mixed together.
The Grey’s Anatomy cast carried every heartbreak and every miracle. They made this ABC drama feel like home. That is how Grey’s Anatomy is still alive today.
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