| T. R. Knight | |
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Knight at the premiere of 27 Dresses, January 2008 |
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| Born | Theodore Raymond Knight March 26, 1973 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
Theodore Raymond "T. R." Knight (born March 26, 1973) is an American actor. Knight's most high-profile role to date was his role as Dr. George O'Malley on ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy.
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Knight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he became involved with the Guthrie Theater at the age of 5. Knight received the Conners Foundation Scholarship as a freshman and apprenticed at the Children's Theatre Company. After finishing high school at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Knight enrolled at the University of Minnesota for a brief period of time. He dropped out and soon landed leading roles at the Guthrie Theater.
Knight moved to New York City and had appeared on Broadway. He played opposite Patti LuPone in the 2001 revival of Noises Off. He also performed in 2003 as Damis in Tartuffe and received a Drama Desk Award nomination in 2003 for his role in the off-Broadway production of Scattergood. Knight's starred in the 2004 drama, Boy.
On television, Knight was a regular cast member of the short-lived Nathan Lane/Laurie Metcalf television series, Charlie Lawrence. In 2005, Knight was cast as Dr. George O'Malley, an intern, on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy. His role earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series in 2007.
In December 2008, People magazine reported that Knight had asked to be released from his contract with Grey's Anatomy and that he would be written off the show.[1] Knight said the reason he quit Grey's Anatomy is because of trust issues with the show's creator, Shonda Rhimes.[2] In the March 2, 2009 edition of People, Shonda Rhimes, the show's creator, head writer and executive producer stated that the claim was false.
Knight also starred in a production of the musical Parade, opening Oct. 4, 2009, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles as Leo Frank, a Jewish pencil-factory manager in Atlanta, Georgia, who, in 1913, was convicted in the rape and murder of a 13-year-old female employee, Mary Phagan. When doubt was ultimately cast on his guilt, Frank's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Soon after, however, he was kidnapped from prison and lynched.[3]
Knight returned to Broadway in David Mamet's A Life in the Theatre in 2010 where he played the role of John[4] opposite Patrick Stewart.
In October 2006 Grey's Anatomy co-stars Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington were involved in an argument during which, Knight and others alleged, Washington insulted his co-star's sexual orientation. Washington later apologized, stating "I sincerely regret my actions and the unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set".[5]
After the incident was reported in the press, Knight released a statement through People magazine on October 19, 2006 stating, in part, “I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there. While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me.”[6]
The controversy over the verbal exchange gained additional momentum on January 15, 2007 immediately following the Golden Globe Awards. When asked by E! Online reporter Ted Casablanca about the incident, Washington denied all statements. [7] Knight appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 17, 2007 and stated that Washington in fact had insulted his sexuality on the Grey's Anatomy set on October 9, 2006.[8] Knight is very close to ex co-star Katherine Heigl.
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