List of Grey's Anatomy cast members

Grey's Anatomy utilized a racially diverse casting process.

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 ten 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. Meredith is assigned to work under Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), along with Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), George O'Malley (T.R. Knight), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers). Following O'Malley's death and Stevens' departure, they are replaced by Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) and April Kepner (Sarah Drew), in the sixth season. The surgical wing is originally supervised by Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr.), who is eventually replaced by Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), and later Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd).

Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) departs at the conclusion of the third season, and is replaced by Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith), who leaves the show during the fifth, and later Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), who departs at the end of the eighth. Introduced in the second season is Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), who leaves the show at the end of the third, in order to launch her own spin-off medical drama Private Practice.^[5] Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) also enter the show in the second season, while half-sister of Meredith, Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), first appears in the third and dies at the end of the eighth. Sloan later passes away at the beginning of the ninth season. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) is given series regular status at the beginning of the sixth 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,^[6] a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama,^[7] and numerous Primetime Emmy Award nominations for individual cast members.^[8]

Cast

Main cast

• * Although he only appeared in the first two episodes of the ninth season, Eric Dane was still billed as a member of the main cast in them.

Recurring cast

References

External links

• List of Grey's Anatomy cast members at the Internet Movie Database
• List of Grey's Anatomy cast members at TV.com