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Season 5 DVD Life of Grey's Anatomy with Ellen Pompeo
by Reg Seeton
With the sixth season of Grey's Anatomy back on
the air for another dose of medical drama, fans
of Grey's can now catch up on the popular ABC
series with the DVD release of Grey's Anatomy:
The Complete Fifth Season, which hit store shelves
on September 15. Ellen Pompeo stars as Meredith
Grey alongside series stars Patrick Dempsey, Sandra
Oh and the rest of the Grey's doctors who found
their way through season five drama to give fans
a great season six premiere on September 18.
With season six in full swing, we backtracked to The Complete Fifth Season to chat with Ellen Pompeo about her character’s then evolving relationship with McDreamy, the casting of Patrick Dempsey, fighting with Sandra Oh, and tackling the issue of veterans in America.
Is it true you were the
first actor cast for Grey’s Anatomy?
ELLEN POMPEO: I’m not sure if I was the first person cast. However, I didn’t audition for the show. I was offered the show by the network, so I did have a different journey through casting than most people on the show.
How tough was it to find
an actor for the role of Derek Shepherd?
POMPEO: It wasn’t tough, actually. The minute I read with Patrick Dempsey, I knew he was the one.
Looking back through
the years, how did you find this chemistry,
and did you imagine that you would come this
far?
 POMPEO:
No, I don’t think I ever imagined it would go
this far, but you learn to trust your instincts.
We had great chemistry together from the start.
I felt something for him. I felt chemistry;
I felt an energy. I don’t know if I can explain
it, but we’re lucky that it is what it is. I
trusted it and the network saw it - and here
we are today.
McDreamy and Meredith
seemed to be closer than ever in season five,
although Derek had a hard time proposing ...
POMPEO: Yes, I would agree with that. But we had two more seasons to film, so they had to drag it out a little.
What was the fan reaction
on the street about Derek and Meredith getting
together again?
POMPEO: Los Angeles is a very insulated place. I don’t think anybody on the street here really cares about us at all. It’s not until we step outside of Los Angeles that people come up and talk to me about the show. I think people here are very used to seeing actors, so they don’t ask anything. However, I think fans wanted them to get married and move on.
Do any women break the
mould when it comes to the ageist issue?
POMPEO: Sure. That's why I love women like Madonna and Demi Moore. They are fantastic examples of women. Oprah is another one. They get better with age and they show women how you have a choice. Life can get better for you as you age. It doesn't have to be downhill after 30. You know what? I celebrate these women because I think they're so important for our culture, for our society and for our young girls.
How do you feel at this
stage in your life?
 POMPEO:
I feel fantastic. I don’t think about my age
because there's nothing you can do about it.
I see what it does to people, but I think to
myself, ‘Why worry?’ It’s not productive to
get hung up on a number. If you’re proud of
your accomplishments and you’re happy with where
you are, I don’t think it matters how old you
are. I have a blessed life. I can’t complain
about a thing.
Would you like to turn
back the clock and be 20 years old again?
POMPEO: Age doesn't affect me. I can't say I want to turn back the clock and be 20 again because I'm happy with my life. I have so many blessings. There are advantages to being 20 and there are advantages to being 40. Like anything, there's a good and a bad side to age - but I’m extremely lucky that I'm very happy.
You mention there's a
good side to everything. What was good about
the fight between your character and Sandra
Oh’s character when they stopped talking to
each other?
POMPEO: Well, I guess it gave us both something different to play as actors and it gave the audience something different to see. I think we’re doing our job to keep people engaged in the show every time we do something fresh and new - and show a side to the characters that the audience hasn't seen before. It’s wonderful to keep the material fresh, new and interesting.
Were those scenes fun
to film?
 POMPEO:
For that reason, Sandra and I were both very
excited about the storyline because we both
want to do good work and we don't want the show
to be boring. In that way, I think that storyline
served its purpose. Hopefully, they would be
closer after the fight - but I really dodn't
know what’s going to happen because she had
a different storyline at the moment. She was
going through something with Owen Hunt (Kevin
McKidd), which was a fantastic storyline dealing
with a soldier who has post-traumatic stress
syndrome. I think that was a very important
issue to highlight in the show and I hope we
did it responsibly and accurately. I hope some
veterans seek solace from the storyline ...
Cristina Yang is always going to be Cristina
Yang. She's always going to put up that wall,
but ...
It sounds like you were
impressed that Shonda decided to tackle the
veteran issue ...
POMPEO: Very much so. I think it’s a really important issue to highlight - and we had an opportunity and a social obligation to do this. We have this platform, so I hoped that we really explored it well. I also hope that we can show the light and help veterans that have problems and are maybe afraid to ask for help - or don’t know where to go for help or are ashamed that they need help. They have such a tough exterior, but I hope the show helped them.
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