8 Casting Decisions That Would’ve Changed ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Completely (PHOTOS)
Grey’s Anatomy has seen a lot of characters come and go over the course of the 18 seasons it’s been on the air, but it’s hard to imagine the show being anything different.
While we all have our favorite characters, the show could’ve ended up very different if certain casting decisions went a different way. Some of our favorites could have been played by completely different actors (or at least some familiar faces in different roles).
Below, find out the actor who almost played Derek Shepherd, as well as the role Sandra Oh almost had!
Grey’s Anatomy, Returns, Thursday, February 24, 9/8c, ABC
Yunjin Kim/Izzie Stevens
Yunjin Kim won viewers over as Sun in ABC’s other hit drama Lost, but she almost played Izzie Stevens in Grey’s Anatomy. The actress revealed in an interview with EW that she auditioned for the medical series and received a callback for the role of Izzie, but ultimately decided to go with Lost after J.J. Abrams wrote a role specifically for her.
Sandra Oh/Miranda Bailey
Sandra Oh will always be our Cristina Yang, but she was actually offered the role of Miranda Bailey first. Oh decided she wanted to play Cristina instead, and the producers said yes.
Justin Chambers/Alex Karev
We can’t imagine a Grey’s world without Alex Karev, but Justin Chambers was actually cast as the character after they had already shot the pilot. Creator Shonda Rhimes and the other producers decided they needed another male character, so they cast Justin and added his scenes into the already shot episode.
Ellen Pompeo/Meredith Grey
Can you picture Grey’s without Ellen Pompeo? We can’t either, though it sounds like we were close to that being a reality! Ellen was initially not interested in doing television when the show was casting, but she was told by people close to her there was a chance the series wouldn’t even get picked up. She said yes, and well, the rest is history!
Isaiah Washington/Derek Shepherd
Before landing his role as Dr. Preston Burke, Isaiah Washington first auditioned for the role of Derek Shepherd. They decided to go with Patrick Dempsey instead, but they offered Isaiah the role of Burke.
Kate Walsh/Addison Montgomery
Kate Walsh’s initial appearance as Addison Montgomery back in Season 1 will always be iconic, but she was actually only supposed to appear on the show for a few episodes. However, Shonda and the producers loved Kate and thought they could do more with her character. She ended up staying on Grey’s until the end of Season 3, and then she moved on to Private Practice.
Rob Lowe/Derek Shepherd
Rob Lowe recently revealed he was initially offered the role of Derek Shepherd, but he ultimately turned it down to do another medical drama called Dr. Vegas. Unfortunately that show only ran for 10 episodes, but it sounds like it was all meant to be in the end.
Jessica Capshaw/Nurse Rose
Prior to being cast as Dr. Arizona Robbins back in Season 5, Jessica Capshaw auditioned to play Nurse Rose, the character who dates Derek Shepherd for a few episodes. She didn’t get that role, but we’d say it worked out well, as she ended up playing Arizona for 10 seasons.
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