Behind the scenes are… intense.
The set of Grey’s Anatomy is one we could only ever dream of getting on, but it doesn’t seem like it’s all sunshine and rainbows.
Ellen Pompeo has revealed that she had a massive fight with Denzel Washington on set during a season 12 episode the actor directed.
After starring in the hit series since 2005, she’s well and truly found a home in Grey Sloan Memorial and wasn’t all that impressed when changes were made on set.
When Denzel directed the 2016 episode, the two clashed, with Ellen recalling Denzel taking expection to her improvising during a scene.
Speaking on her Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo podcast, she told the story of when her character Meridith was attacked by a patient and she went off script.
She said: “I was like, ‘Look at me when you apologise, look at me,’ and that wasn’t in the dialogue. And Denzel went ham on my ass. He was like, ‘I’m the director. Don’t you tell him what to do.'”
And that wasn’t the end of the encounter, with Ellen fighting back saying: “I was like, ‘Listen, motherf*****, this is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling?”
While they may have had their differences, Ellen says the two haven’t had a run in like this since, and she has the “utmost respect for him as an actor and director.”
She continued: “So, we didn’t get through it without a fight, but that’s actors for you.
“Passionate and fiery and that’s where you get the magic, and that’s where you get the good stuff. So, it was an amazing experience, it really was.”
And this isn’t the only on set disturbance, as Patrick Dempsey was accused earlier this month of “terrorising” the Grey’s set after an extract from the book Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy, based on the series, by executive producer James D. Parriott was released to the Hollywood Reporter.
He said: “There were HR issues. It wasn’t sexual in any way. He sort of was terrorising the set. Some cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him.
“He had this hold on the set. The network and studio came down and we had sessions with them. I think he was just done with the show.”
