‘It Broke Me’: Grey’s Anatomy Creator Shonda Rhimes Reveals Whose Death on the Show Hit her Hardest
“Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes recently revealed which character’s death hit her the hardest on an episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast.
Rhimes, who also created the “Grey’s” spin-off “Private Practice,” joined Alex Cooper on her podcast in an episode shared on October 8.
Cooper asked the writer and producer which character’s death on the show hit her the hardest. With several to choose from, such as Derek Shephard (Patrick Dempsey), Lexi Grey (Chyler Leigh) and Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), she revealed it was one of the core five interns.
“Probably George’s,” she said. “I mean, George was really, that character is so beloved. T.R. is such a lovely guy. That was such a hard thing to do.”
“T.R. was so amazing cause he didn’t need to lay on that table, but he was like ‘I’m going to do the role even though you’re never going to see my face, the whole nine yards. He was wonderful.”
George’s death came in season 6 of the show, which is now set to air its 22nd season on October 9. George was about to leave the Seattle hospital to enlist in the Army. His friends Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) were going to try to convince him to stay before a John Doe patient came into the hospital, clinging to life.
It was later revealed that John Doe was George. He had jumped in front of a bus to save a woman’s life, leaving him unrecognizable.
Shonda Rhimes Says George’s Death ‘Broke’ Her
Getty“The 007 in the palm, you really wanted us to actually like have snot coming out of our noses,” Cooper said, referencing the scene where George writes out 007 in Meredith’s hand to let her know it was him.
“I mean it broke me,” Rhimes replied. “So I knew that the audience would respond to it, but I really loved it.”
George earned the 007 nickname from his fellow interns in the first season after a patient nearly died during his first surgery. The nickname is a reference to James Bond’s “license to kill.”
Despite his death in the first episode of season 6, actor T.R. Knight reprised his role in an appearance during a dream sequence in season 17.
Rhimes previously told Entertainment Weekly that George’s death was kept secret on set.
“Nobody knew who George was. Nobody,” she said. “I’m not even sure all the cast knew. Because, technically, his character had left to become a soldier, so he was already gone.
“I know that certain members of the crew knew, and T.R. was determined that he would be the body lying on the operating table. He would be the body that you saw every single time, which is why you got to see his beautiful blue eyes.”
Shonda Rhimes Talks Other Characters’ Deaths
Cooper went on to say she felt unsettled after the plane crash episode that resulted in the deaths of characters Lexi and Mark.
Rhimes revealed she recently rewatched parts of the show, including the plane crash episode.
“I was horrified. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is like a freaking snuff film,’ like what the heck?” she said of the episode.
“But in it, during the time when I’m doing it, I’m inside the story. And my job is to be keeper of the story, not keeper of the actors, not keeper of the show, not keeper of the fans,” she continued. “My whole job is to just be true to the story. That was the story.”
“But I watch it back now and I was like, I can’t believe that actually happened and that people survived watching that.”
