Category: Shonda Rhimes
T.R. Knight Talks About Why He Left 'Grey's Anatomy'
T.R. Knight is finally talking openly about why he asked to leave the hit show 'Grey's Anatomy' with Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello.
T.R.'s character, George, was onscreen for 48 minutes in the first five episodes of last season (compare that to Sandra Oh's Christina, who got 119 minutes). Yet T.R. didn't feel comfortable discussing the situation with the show creator Shonda Rhimes due to a "communication breakdown."
"My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George]," he explains. "And with respect, I'm going to leave it at that."
It sounds like some of the problems between T.R. and Shonda may have begun when Isiah Washington used a slur to describe the actor. T.R. says Shonda was one of the people who did not want him to come out, although Shonda contradicts that.
"I think she was concerned about having my statement come out so close to the [initial] event." Rhimes denies this: "I said, 'If you want to come out, that's awesome.'"
T.R. also disliked George's storyline in the fourth season (when George cheated on his wife, Callie, with best friend Izzie), so when his character practically disappeared in the fifth season, T.R. decided it was time to go: even if it meant terminating a $14 million contract.
"There just comes a time when it's so clear that moving on is the best decision."
"From an outsider's perspective, I get the [impression that] 'He's just a spoied actor... he doesn't know how good he has it," he says. "There are a lot of people who would like to be in my position. But in the end, I need to be fulfilled in my work."
What a tough, tough position to be in! A lot of people would endure an uncomfortable situation if it meant earning $14 million over the course of a few years.
What would you do in a position like that: ask to leave or just collect the paycheck?
You can read the entire interview in next week's issue of Entertainment Weekly (which hits newsstands tomorrow).
Photos by INF
Fact Or Fiction: The Real Reason Melissa George Left Grey's Anatomy
So actress Melissa George reportedly finished filming for Grey's Anatomy this past Tuesday. And now she's reportedly coming clean about why she really left the show. Melissa was supposedly courted by Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes to play a lesbian character, but ABC reportedly kept that from happening.
'So many pages were being cut from my character every week,' Melissa
told a friend. 'I was supposed to have a full-blown love affair with
Callie (played by Sara Ramirez), but Shonda said the network
was making too many notes on the storyline. At first she commiserated
with me, but then when I'd complain, she wouldn't even talk about it.
My agents calls went unanswered, and I wasn't just going to sit there.
Shonda promised me something and she didn't deliver. That's when I
decided it's time to go.' "
It did seem like the firing of the actress who played Hahn (Callie's first lesbian lover) did not bode well for Melissa's character, Sadie. Yet with an impending actors' strike, and no other work lined up, it seems like an unusual time to leave a job! Then again, Melissa may not need the work. And it sounds like there was tension with Shonda, too.
Melissa went on to tell her pal that Shonda is 'a nightmare. She's really lovely — until she wants to punish you.' "
Why would she want to punish Melissa? Could this be damage control from Melissa's camp since her option wasn't picked up for more than the initial number of episodes?
What do you think?
Photos by Bauer Griffin
