Ellen Pompeo reveals why she won’t leave “Grey’s Anatomy”, and the reason might surprise you
Ellen Pompeo reveals why she won’t leave “Grey’s Anatomy”, and the reason might surprise you
Grey’s Anatomy has been around since 2005. That’s almost 12 years, guys.
TWELVE YEARS!!!
That’s a long time to be on a show. And yet, while Grey’s Anatomy has seen its unfortunate share of cast departures, a core group of the original cast remain. And at the center of them all is Meredith Grey, played to perfection by Ellen Pompeo.
Well, in an exclusive interview with PeopleStyle, Ellen explains why she’s stayed at Grey’s Anatomy so long, and it’s not what you think:
“My decision to stay on Grey’s was based solely on age. At 33, I was wise enough to know my clock was already ticking in Hollywood. If I’d been younger, I probably would have done my time, then gone out to search for other things. But I was definitely aware of how challenging it would be to find other roles in my late 30s and early 40s. I am very happy that I made the decision to stay. It’s only gotten better with time.”
We are so glad you stayed, too!
Even if the ageism hinted at by Ellen sucks, the silver lining in that cloud is that she remained on the show. What we don’t sometimes forget is that Ellen was cast on Grey’s Anatomy when she was thirty-three years old! In Hollywood, she’d be playing a grandmother in two years. (Don’t get us started on Hollywood’s gender/ageism problems.) Instead, Shonda Rhimes‘ wonderful writing has given Ellen a myriad of excellent opportunities to strengthen her acting chops. In many ways, her acting is getting better with age. Not that the 46-year-old actress can stand to look at herself:
“Watching myself age on TV is miserable. To be honest, it’s the toughest part of my job.”
And yet, Ellen continues to have an upbeat attitude about the aging process. She recently partnered with Philosophy as part of their #CoolAger campaign to help lessen the stigma around getting older. As she explains:
“But as uncomfortable as watching myself age is, I don’t think focusing on physical beauty is necessarily the best thing for your mind. It’s a natural thing that we all do, but I don’t think it’s the healthiest thing. The older you get, the more you realize life isn’t about your looks. Everyone ages, and it’s okay.”
Now let’s all take a deep breath and repeat that: Everyone ages, and it’s okay.
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