Grey's Shocker: Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew Let Go

[JamesG]

"Grey’s Anatomy" Shocker: Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew To Exit ABC Medical Drama after Season 14
by Nellie Andreeva
March 8, 2018


Two popular, long-time "Grey’s Anatomy" cast members, Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew, will be departing the hit ABC medical drama at the end of the current fourteenth season.

Capshaw has been on the show for 10 seasons, nine of them as a series regular, playing Dr. Arizona Robbins; Drew has been on Grey’s for nine seasons, eight of them as a series regular, playing Dr. April Kepner.

The decision was made by the producers who at the start of each season have to formally pick up the option of each regular cast member. Sources say Capshaw and Drew will be the only series regular members of "Grey’s" large ensemble cast to depart this year.





While "Grey’s", created/executive produced by Shonda Rhimes and executive produced by co-showrunner Krista Vernoff, has not been officially renewed for Season 15, that is considered a foregone conclusion with its ratings remaining strong and its star, Ellen Pompeo, signing a new two-year deal.

The decision not to bring back Capshaw and Drew comes on the heels of the blockbuster new Pompeo pact that gave her a significant salary increase, paying her as much as $20 million a year, including signing bonus, producing fees, ownership in the show and other extras.





Sources close to the matter stress that the decision for Capshaw and Drew’s exits was based on the show’s creative direction, something Vernoff alluded to in her statement.

“The characters of Arizona and April are permanently woven into the fabric of Grey’s Anatomy thanks to the extraordinary work of Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew,” Vernoff said. “As writers, our job is to follow the stories where they want to go and sometimes that means saying goodbye to characters we love. It has been a joy and a privilege to work with these phenomenally talented actresses.”





Rhimes underlined the cultural significance of Capshaw and Drew’s characters — Arizona, who is a lesbian, and April, who has a very close relationship with God — and indicated that we may see them again.

“It’s always hard for me to say goodbye to any of my characters,” Rhimes said. “Both Arizona Robbins and April Kepner are not only beloved but iconic — both the LBGTQ and devout Christian communities are underrepresented on TV. I will be forever grateful to both Jessica and Sarah for bringing these characters to life with such vibrant performance and for inspiring women around the globe. They will always be a part of our Shondaland family.”

http://deadline.com/2018/03/greys-an...ma-1202316987/

[JamesG]

Sarah Drew Reacts to "Grey's" Dismissal: "I Haven't Had Time to Process It"
by Michael Ausiello
March 8, 2018


Sarah Drew was blindsided by her "Grey’s Anatomy" ouster. Just minutes after news broke on Thursday that the actress has been let go from the ABC drama she’s called home for nearly a decade, Drew took to social media to express her shock and sadness.

“Thank you for all of the love,” she wrote. “I know you’re sad. I’m sad too. I haven’t really had the time to process this information. I’ve been with it for less than 48 hours, so I’m not ready to say my thank yous and give an all encompassing statement about my 9 years here. That will come later.”

“For now, I’d like to say: I love you,” she continued. “And I love April, and her story isn’t over yet. And the really good news (for me, at least) is that I’m here on set shadowing one of my favorite people, Kevin McKidd, with my beloved Grey’s family all this week and next, so I get to process all of my feelings surrounded by the community that has nourished and nurtured me for almost a decade. For that, I am so grateful.”

http://tvline.com/2018/03/08/sarah-d...ason-14-april/

[JamesG]

Jessica Capshaw on "Grey's Anatomy" Exit: "I'm Sad to See Arizona Go"
by Michael Ausiello
March 8, 2018


Jessica Capshaw has released a statement regarding her forthcoming exit from "Grey’s Anatomy" and, much like fellow departing cast member Sarah Drew, she’s bummed to be leaving.

“For the past ten years I have had the rare privilege of not only playing Arizona Robbins but also being madly in love with playing her,” the actress shared on social media.



“Arizona Robbins is kind, intelligent, funny, insightful, bold, playful, fierce and really good at her job. She was one of the first members of the LGBTQ community to be represented in a series regular role on network television. Her impact on the world is permanent and forever. Forever. I am grateful that I have gotten to bring her to life and for the life that she has brought to me.

I am sad to see her go but I am consoled by the idea that she will continue to live on and on in all of our consciences and our imaginations. Shonda [Rhimes], thank you for the ride on this incredible rollercoaster.”

http://tvline.com/2018/03/08/jessica...ona-season-14/

[Chocolate Moose]

Yes, I just read it too! Surprising, huh?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/%e...-14/ar-BBK1q2H

[JamesG]

"Grey's Anatomy" Boss Blasts Suggestion That Jessica Capshaw/Sarah Drew Exits Are Due to Ellen Pompeo's Raise
by Matt Webb Mitovich
March 8, 2018


"Grey’s Anatomy" showrunner Krista Vernoff is not here for your speculation that Ellen Pompeo’s recently trumpeted payday is to blame for the dismissal of longtime castmates Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew.

Hours after the news broke that Capshaw and Drew would be wrapping their respective runs as Arizona and April on ABC’s top-rated drama after Season 14, Vernoff tweeted her condemnation of speculation that Pompeo’s new deal — $10 million per season, for the next two years — dictated the need to winnow the series’ ranks.




“The suggestion in the Deadline article that our cast changes are in any way related to Ellen Pompeo's salary renegotiation is wrong, hurtful, and misguided. It smacks of an old, broken, patriarchal notion that women must be pitted against each other and that one woman's success will be costly to others.

Ellen Pompeo has not only advocated passionately for her fellow cast members, she has taken the time to educate women worldwide as to how to advocate for themselves and that must not now be twisted. The decision was a creative one.

The only thing as constant on Grey's Anatomy as Ellen Pompeo is our penchant for reinvention. It is a part of our success and what keeps the show exciting. We love these actresses and these characters and it felt true and right creatively to wrap up their stories. And that is the whole story.”

http://tvline.com/2018/03/08/greys-a...rsy-season-14/

[JamesG]

Ellen Pompeo Blasts Claim that her Salary Increase Led to Co-Stars being Let Go
by Patrick Gomez
March 8, 2018


Ellen Pompeo does not appreciate the insinuation that her recent salary negotiation — which led to her new $20 million salary — had anything to do with her "Grey’s Anatomy" co-stars Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew being let go from the show at the end of the current season.

“This is above my paygrade,” Pompeo tweeted Thursday, warning fans to not “fall into that trap” of “pitting women against each other.”

http://ew.com/tv/2018/03/08/ellen-po...ah-drew-fired/

[Chocolate Moose]

It's either yes or no.

[TMC]

Grey's Anatomy's Jesse Williams on losing Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew: "This news f*ckin sucks"
“Sarah and Jessica are easily among my favorite people and coworkers, so this news f*ckin sucks," tweeted the actor, whose character was involved in an on-again, off-again romance with Drew's Dr. April Kepner. Their immense talent speaks for itself but it’s them as people that I’m so grateful to know, privileged to have worked with and learned from them. To say they’ll be missed is a massive understatement. Luckily for us, we’ll get to see these artists continue bringing compelling and complex characters to life for many moons to come! #OurWorkIsForever.”

ALSO:

Here are five ways April could exit Grey's
Here are three happy endings for Arizona -- and one very unhappy one

Does Grey's Anatomy have no choice but to kill off Dr. April Kepchner?
It's hard to imagine a credible exit strategy for Sarah Drew's character because she shares an infant daughter with Jesse Williams' Jackson, who will still be on the show. "It would be out of character for April to leave Seattle and her daughter behind, and out of character for Jackson to let April move elsewhere in the country, taking Harriet with her," says Liz Raftery. "And, if April simply leaves Grey Sloan because she gets a job elsewhere in Seattle, the writers face the dilemma of having April be conspicuously absent from both Jackson's life and the lives of all her friends/former coworkers going forward. (Not that the show hasn't done this before.) However, the easiest solution to get rid of April's character is an alarming one: by killing her off."

Grey's Anatomy fans raised money to fly a banner in support of Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw
Jessica Capshaw responded to the banner that was flown this afternoon over the Grey's studio by tweeting: "OMG. There is a plane carrying a banner that says..WE (heart) SARAH DREW & JESSICA CAPSHAW right now...There are no words...WE (heart) YOU ALL!!"

[TMC]

Originally Posted by JamesG

Ellen Pompeo Blasts Claim that her Salary Increase Led to Co-Stars being Let Go
by Patrick Gomez
March 8, 2018


Ellen Pompeo does not appreciate the insinuation that her recent salary negotiation — which led to her new $20 million salary — had anything to do with her "Grey’s Anatomy" co-stars Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew being let go from the show at the end of the current season.

“This is above my paygrade,” Pompeo tweeted Thursday, warning fans to not “fall into that trap” of “pitting women against each other.”

http://ew.com/tv/2018/03/08/ellen-po...ah-drew-fired/

Ellen Pompeo tells Ellen "it's absolutely not true" that her pay hike led to Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew's exits
“I mean, I’m not involved in these kind of decisions," the Grey's Anatomy star said on Thursday's Ellen show. "However, there’s a few problems that you encounter doing a show for 14 seasons. And one of them is the writers have a really hard time creatively, you know, thinking up new stories for all these characters. I think we have 16 regular cast members and it’s always sad when we lose people for whatever reason, whether they want to go or they don’t wanna go, it doesn’t make it any easier.”

[Chocolate Moose]

I wonder if they will have her go insane. Last night she acted weird.

[JamesG]

Shonda Rhimes, Ellen Pompeo Say Goodbye to "Grey's Anatomy" stars Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw
by Lynette Rice
April 20, 2018


While everyone was bidding a fond farewell to "Scandal", two other actors made a quiet but no less bittersweet exit from Shondaland.

Thursday marked the last day of production for "Grey’s Anatomy" stars Jessica Capshaw (Arizona Robbins) and Sarah Drew (April Kepner). Their sad departure was acknowledged via social media by executive producer Shonda Rhimes, who took time away from celebrating (mourning?) the end of "Scandal" to pay tribute to the women.




“I need to devote a whole day just to celebrate Jessica and just to celebrate Sarah,” she wrote.

“To tell you stories about their talent and to tell what I know about what their roles have meant. A social media post won’t cut it and I will not minimize their magic by pretending it will. I have more to say. I will do so. For now I will just say how lucky we were to witness their talents and the magic they brought to their characters.”




Star Ellen Pompeo also posted about saying goodbye to her colleagues.

“Thank you for bringing it the way you have brought it for 10 amazing years,” she said of Capshaw. “What a blessing you are and what a contribution you made to television history. Lit that screen up with your glow on the LGBT community… making a difference and making it all look so easy.”

Of Drew, she noted, “You served up the sugar and spice for 9 years and it’s been a blast. Your passion and talent for storytelling has touched so many people provoked thought and Greys is a better show because of it and you.”

http://ew.com/tv/2018/04/20/greys-an...shaw-last-day/

[TMC]

Originally Posted by JamesG

Shonda Rhimes, Ellen Pompeo Say Goodbye to "Grey's Anatomy" stars Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw
by Lynette Rice
April 20, 2018


While everyone was bidding a fond farewell to "Scandal", two other actors made a quiet but no less bittersweet exit from Shondaland.

Thursday marked the last day of production for "Grey’s Anatomy" stars Jessica Capshaw (Arizona Robbins) and Sarah Drew (April Kepner). Their sad departure was acknowledged via social media by executive producer Shonda Rhimes, who took time away from celebrating (mourning?) the end of "Scandal" to pay tribute to the women.




“I need to devote a whole day just to celebrate Jessica and just to celebrate Sarah,” she wrote.

“To tell you stories about their talent and to tell what I know about what their roles have meant. A social media post won’t cut it and I will not minimize their magic by pretending it will. I have more to say. I will do so. For now I will just say how lucky we were to witness their talents and the magic they brought to their characters.”




Star Ellen Pompeo also posted about saying goodbye to her colleagues.

“Thank you for bringing it the way you have brought it for 10 amazing years,” she said of Capshaw. “What a blessing you are and what a contribution you made to television history. Lit that screen up with your glow on the LGBT community… making a difference and making it all look so easy.”

Of Drew, she noted, “You served up the sugar and spice for 9 years and it’s been a blast. Your passion and talent for storytelling has touched so many people provoked thought and Greys is a better show because of it and you.”

http://ew.com/tv/2018/04/20/greys-an...shaw-last-day/

Shonda Rhimes pays tribute to Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw on their final day on Grey's Anatomy
“I need to devote a whole day just to celebrate Jessica and just to celebrate Sarah," Rhimes wrote on Instagram last night. "To tell you stories about their talent and to tell what I know about what their roles have meant. A social media post won’t cut it and I will not minimize their magic by pretending it will. I have more to say. I will do so. For now, I will just say how lucky we were to witness their talents and the magic they brought to their characters.”

ALSO:

• Geena Davis to reprise her Dr. Herman role on Grey's Anatomy
  Grey's Anatomy drops a major clue about Arizona's exit in announcing Davis' return
  Ellen Pompeo also paid tribute to Drew and Capshaw in separate Instagram posts

[TMC]

How Grey's Anatomy said goodbye to Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw
Ellen Pompeo strongly hinted how fan favorites April and Arizona likely wouldn't exit the series in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "And judging from how Thursday's finale ended for both departing actresses, it's clear that the ABC medical drama valued Capshaw and Drew as much as their legions of viewers did," says Lesley Goldberg. After the episode ended, Shonda Rhimes paid tribute to the actresses, tweeting: "I will never stop being grateful for the chance to work with @sarahdrew and @JessicaCapshaw. In April and Arizona, they created powerful unforgettable characters.

ALSO:

• Season finale featured a surprising callback to Season 7
  Ranking every Grey's Anatomy wedding
  Ranking every season finale from most to least shocking

[JamesG]

Sarah Drew on her "Profound" "Grey's Anatomy" Departure and (Emmy-Nominated) "Rebirth"
by Lesley Goldberg
August 16, 2018


For Sarah Drew, the Emmy nomination for "Grey's Anatomy's" shortform series B-Team — which she directed — had a profound impact to say the least. The nomination came nearly two months after she was let go from the ABC medical drama after a nine-season run.

"My confidence had gotten a bit shaken in the wake of being let go, and the nomination after the fact made me go, 'I don't need to be worried about anything or have my confidence shaken,'" Drew tells The Hollywood Reporter.




The six-episode web series, which focuses on the ABC medical drama's latest intern class, serves as Drew's directorial debut and, to hear her tell it, a new chapter in her career. "I'm not only pursuing my career as an actor but now I'm walking into this world as a director and producer. The world is so wide open," says Drew, who called the nom part of her "rebirth."

Here, in her first interview since wrapping her run as April on Shondaland's "Grey's Anatomy", Drew opens up about the impact the Emmy nomination has had on her, how April's journey ended and what's next.









Did you know that ABC was submitting the web series for Emmy consideration?

I knew when we started putting the whole series together because there were certain rules we had to follow in order to be eligible for a nomination. I've been submitted as an actor for an Emmy every year but that didn't mean anything. (Laughs)

It was a great, huge, wonderful surprise to get that nomination. The whole "B-Team," we were just out of our minds. I'm still pinching myself over the whole thing.







What was your reaction to the nomination coming after you'd been let go from "Grey's" and after you'd already completed production and your last episodes had already aired?

It was a bolt of good news. (Laughs) My confidence had gotten a bit shaken in the wake of being let go and the nomination after the fact made me go, "I don't need to be worried about anything or have my confidence shaken."

I'm not only pursuing my career as an actor but I'm now also walking into this world as a director and as a producer and the world is so wide open. More than anything else, the last few weeks after my final episodes have been a really beautiful rebirth and a really exciting time. I'm running around, meeting everybody and talking to producers and talking to heads of casting at all the networks and the studios and I'm finding that the landscape is so different. There's so much more content; it's a totally different world for television.

The nomination in the midst of walking out into the world and feeling like I'm engaging in this beautiful rebirth was more affirmation that this is a good space in my life right now; that I don't need to be sad and I don't need to be mourning and I don't need to be in grief over the end of something that was so beautiful. I can just rise from the ashes in a more brilliant way. The nomination was such a profound affirmation.







Take me back to the day you found out that you would not be returning to "Grey's".

I was let go during an episode where I was shadowing Kevin McKidd [who stars as Owen and regularly directs episodes]. It was in the afternoon and I went back to my trailer and I did my crying and called my people. A whole bunch of people came into my trailer to give me hugs and cry with me and tell me they were so sad I was leaving.

I was supposed to be shadowing Kevin this whole episode with the hope that I would get to direct an episode of "Grey's", but it seemed like that wasn't a possibility anymore. I wondered if I should keep shadowing Kevin. My husband was like, "Of course you go."

I had this incredible opportunity to grow as a director and as an artist with a director that I respect so much. I had nothing to be ashamed of and didn't need to hide. So that's what I did: I showed up the next morning at 6 a.m. and shadowed Kevin until I got cast as Cagney and had to leave to go shoot CBS' "Cagney & Lacey".







What a profound experience.

I'm a believer in things happening for a reason and finding beauty in the midst of grief. I don't regret or begrudge anybody this season of my life. I'm embracing it. I had a profound and incredible season of my life on "Grey's Anatomy".

I got to tell stories I believed in. I got to work with Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers and learn from the best. I got to work with an incredible community of people that I will have lifelong friendships with. I got to build a platform and have my children in an environment where I was cared for because of who Shonda is and how she takes care of her mamas and her women.

It's hard for me to come up with anything I could be angry about.







What do you think about now that you've had some distance from the show?

Being let go was painful when it happened, but, in retrospect, I think it would have been hard for me to walk away from that job. I was on it for nine years. It feels right and it feels like a good time to move on to something else with all the great love in my heart that I have for everybody and respect and gratitude for what that experience was.

Playing a character for nine years is a long haul.







Are you taking more meetings for directing after the nomination?

Yes! I'm certainly keeping that in the forefront of a lot of my conversations. I want to do all of it: produce, direct and I want to dig into another really fun character. I got bit by the directing bug because I produced my first film — Indivisible — during our last hiatus and it's coming out in theaters on Oct. 26.

I realized on that film that I was scared of directing because I thought maybe I couldn't keep all the different things in my head all at once: everybody's journey, props, costume, wardrobe, shot lists, visuals, etc. I found that it came quite naturally to me and I got excited about it. I called Debbie Allen from that set and asked her to shadow and learn how to direct. That's when she told me about B-Team and that they wanted to have a director who was in the "Grey's" family do it.

I shadowed Chandra Wilson (who plays Bailey and regularly directs) to prep for those webisodes. I was terrified in the prep and so afraid of completely failing.







Would you return to "Grey's Anatomy" as a director?

Maybe.







When news initially broke that you and Jessica Capshaw were let go, there was an uproar on social media of people who assumed that the show could not afford to keep both of you after paying Ellen Pompeo $20 million a year.

How was the decision explained to you?

I was told that the show had too many characters and that they needed to downsize because they couldn't service all of the characters effectively. They didn't want any of us to be left in the background and not getting much of a story. Because there were so many series regulars, they needed to downsize and to find some characters that they felt like they could tie up their stories well.

[Showrunner] Krista Vernoff said that she felt like April had been through so much and had come out the other side and that she didn't know what she could put her through again. It was really hard to hear that. But Krista had a lot of very complimentary things to say about the work that I had done — especially this past season — and that April was going to have her happy ending.







April winds up quitting her job to do, as she calls it, "God's work," and ends up getting married to Matthew (Justin Bruening). If that is the last viewers see of April, what do you think about how her journey ended?

In the midst of it, I was devastated that Jackson (Jesse Williams) and April wasn't an endgame. I thought Jackson and April were meant to get back together and they were going to get married again and realize they'd been crazy and it was just going to be this long, slow burn.

But after thinking about it, there's a real sweetness to that story of April's faith. She ran off with Jackson and loved him and wouldn't regret a single second of that relationship because it made her heart grow and she got a beautiful daughter out of it. She grew as a woman and as a person of faith. All of that had to happen. But there was something beautiful about the redemption story between April and Matthew. She hurt him worse than anybody had ever hurt him by walking away from him [at their wedding].

For there to be reconciliation from that scenario? That's a really beautiful redemption story that there could be forgiveness there. He lost his wife and then finds his first love again. It's lovely.







Yet at the same time, viewers didn't really get to see that journey between April and Matthew.

I wish that we had gotten to see more of their journey before they got married. I would've liked to play those scenes and I would've liked to have told that story in a more full way. I can see the beauty in it.

But part of me will always be a little heartbroken that April and Jackson were not endgame.







April is one of a small handful of "Grey's" characters to exit the show alive. Have there been any conversations about having you back at all as a guest star, especially since April and Jackson share custody of their daughter?

I have not heard anything about that.







Would you be open to doing that?

Maybe.







ABC has "Grey's" spin-off "Station 19", and Matthew works as a paramedic — which would make sense to see in that world.

Last summer, I wrote to [Station 19 showrunner and Grey's alum] Stacy McKee and told her that Justin Bruening has to be on your firefighter show. But who knows? I think he'd be an awesome addition to that cast. It would be fun to play in the world of Shondaland.

But at the same time, I have said goodbye to April and put her to rest. I would be perfectly happy not being April again. I don't feel a particular urge to play her any time soon. I love that character.







Will you keep watching "Grey's"?

There is something about watching your family go on without you that's a bit painful. I'm not sure I need to put myself through that.

I love them and I'm sure it's going to be a great season but I think it might be challenging for me to tune in.







Looking back, what would you say April's impact on "Grey's" was?

So many of April's stories were about resilience in the face of pain and rising above in the midst of sorrow and grief. That's what I want people to remember about her.

April's story throughout the whole nine years on the show was a story about someone going through pain and emerging in a more beautiful, more glorified state of hope and of gratitude and of resilience and of strength. That's what I hope people take away from April.







What was it like moving from April to an iconic character like Cagney?

I didn't have time to process what I was doing when I walked into Cagney. I got let go on a Tuesday, the news broke on a Thursday, I had five test offers in front of me on that Thursday and I chose to pursue Cagney.

I tested on Saturday, got the offer on Monday and was shooting Cagney at 7 a.m. Tuesday. I had been given the role at 3 p.m. on Monday when I was on set shooting Grey's and I had to finish my day with Kevin directing. [On Cagney & Lacey], I had to cuff somebody on day one and our technical advisers had to show me how to do it and I had to figure out how to pull a gun on somebody!

It was such a different energy than April. We were heartbroken that that didn't get picked up.







What did you hear about why CBS didn't pick it up?

Everybody loved it and it was just one of those "I don't know what happened" kind of things. It's certainly heartbreaking in the moment but I know that there's something around the corner for all of us that's meant to be even better.







What's next for you?

I'm reviewing options. I'm currently dipping my toes in a couple of different development things. I haven't officially signed on anywhere but I've got three or four different potential projects that I'm interested in potentially producing and acting in and maybe directing episodes of.







Will you go back to 24-episode broadcast shows?

Not right now. I'm thinking more about 10- to 13-episode things. The things that I'm thinking about developing all feel like streaming and not broadcast network stuff. We'll see! It's all very open and exciting right now.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...erview-1134025

[JamesG]

Sarah Drew Says her "Grey's Anatomy" Firing “Felt Mean and Unjust”
by Armando Tinoco
October 15, 2024


Sarah Drew is reflecting on the time she was let go from "Grey’s Anatomy" after being on the show for nine seasons.

During an appearance on the Call It What It Is podcast, co-hosted by Drew’s former co-stars Jessica Capshaw and Camilla Luddington, Drew explained how she felt about leaving the show.

“I was unceremoniously let go in a way that felt mean and unjust, and because of that, the outpouring of love was so enormous it was like you were sitting there watching people [eulogize you],” Drew said.





Drew has since returned to "Grey’s" twice as April, first in 2021 and again in 2022, and she tells Capshaw and Luddington that those one-off guest appearances have felt “freeing”.

“I have no attachment to [the show] at all,” adding, “I had zero anxiety [going back because] I don’t need anything from anyone on that set anymore. They’re not responsible for my livelihood anymore. They’re not responsible for my success or my joy… I’m like, ‘Hey! This is a fun spot to come visit.’”





Drew went on to credit her on screen romance with Jesse Williams’ Jackson with helping Hollywood view her as more than just a character actress — which, in turn, has resulted in her becoming one of Hallmark Channel’s go-to romantic leads post-Grey’s.

“Prior to [April] getting with [Jackson], I always played awkward, grating, annoying, ugly duckling, not-beautiful people,” Drew said. “I was the weird stalker who is after [Matthew Morrison’s Will on Glee], or the pathetic wife who is married to a man who doesn’t love her [on Mad Men], or the ugly best friend to Emily VanCamp[‘s Amy] on Everwood.

I was ugly until my character started dating Jackson and now I’m playing romantic leads.”

https://deadline.com/2024/10/greys-a...st-1236117006/