Ellen Pompeo has starred in “Grey’s Anatomy” since its debut in 2005, and it sounds like she doesn’t plan to leave the show anytime soon.
Although Pompeo’s character, Meredith Grey, has had less screen time since 2022, she recently shared why she has no intentions of stepping away from the ABC medical drama for good.
“That would make no sense, emotionally or financially. The show was streamed more than a billion times in 2024. More than a billion times,” Pompeo explained to El País. “The companies that own the show and stream the show make a lot of money from our images and our voices and our faces.”
“If I were to walk away completely, everybody gets to make money from my hard work for 20 years and I wouldn’t make any money,” Pompeo added. “To me, it doesn’t make any sense that everybody gets to profit off of my hard work. And emotionally, the show means a lot to people. I want to have an attitude of gratitude toward the show.”
Created by Shonda Rhimes, “Grey’s Anatomy” has run for 444 episodes as of April 10, and is currently on its 21st season. Cast members have come and gone in the show’s now decade-long life span, but some of the more iconic “Grey’s” actors include Sandra Oh, Patrick Dempsey, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Kevin McKidd, Justin Chambers, Jesse Williams, Sara Ramirez, Jessica Capshaw and Eric Dane.
Elsewhere in the interview, Pompeo discussed why she decided to join the Hulu limited series “Good American Family.”
“Well, this is a limited series, so I won’t appear as this character again,” she said. “I was just looking for something that was very different from Meredith Grey, and this offer presented itself.”
