Grey's Anatomy has been on the air for two decades now, and in that time we've seen a number of surgeons come and go from the hospital. Because of its extensive cast, it's not uncommon to see the actors and actresses in other TV shows and movies, so let's take a look at 32 other projects that feature our beloved Seattle doctors.
Made Of Honor (Patrick Dempsey, Kevin McKidd)
Not only does Made of Honor feature McDreamy himself, Patrick Dempsey as Tom, trying to win over his betrothed best friend (Michelle Monaghan's Hannah), but we also get a double dose of Grey's with Kevin McKidd. The man who would go on to play military veteran and trauma surgeon Owen Hunt plays Colin, the man Hannah is engaged to. Keep the scalpels far, far away from these two.
Old School (Ellen Pompeo)
Before she put the "Grey" in Grey's Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo played Nicole in the 2003 comedy Old School. Nicole was the high school crush of Luke Wilson's Mitch, who is trying to move on after a bad breakup. Pompeo didn't make her way onto the hospital scene until two years later.
Killing Eve (Sandra Oh)
After leaving behind twisted sister Cristina Yang, Sandra Oh took on the title role in BBC's Killing Eve, where she played an MI6 agent charged with tracking down skilled assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). The women become engaged in a game of obsessive cat and mouse for four seasons, with Oh earning a Golden Globe for best actress and several Primetime Emmy nominations for her performance.
The Ring (Martin Henderson)
Martin Henderson joined the cast of Grey's Anatomy in 2015 as Nathan Riggs, the love interest of both Meredith Grey and Megan Hunt. Before that, though, he co-starred in one of the best horror movies of all time, The Ring, playing the ex-husband of Naomi Watts' Rachel.
Nashville (Chris Carmack)
Back in 2013, Atticus Lincoln was just a cowboy with a song and a dream. OK, so that wasn't actually Link, but rather Chris Carmack playing country singer Will Lexington on Nashville. Carmack appeared on all six seasons of the musical ABC/CMT drama before it ended in the summer of 2018. And it was just a few months later when the actor made his debut as the ortho god we know and love.
Roseanne/The Conners (James Pickens Jr.)
James Pickens Jr. is one of just two of Grey's Anatomy's original cast to stick around through at least its first 21 seasons (along with Chandra Wilson), but long before he was Dr. Richard Webber, he was playing Chuck Mitchell on Roseanne. He first appeared as Dan's (John Goodman) best friend in 1990, guest-starring in 21 episodes over the years. Pickens reprised the role on ABC's spinoff The Conners in 2018, appearing in nine of those episodes, all the while continuing to portray Richard on Grey's.
The Practice (Jessica Capshaw)
Jamie Stringer, portrayed by Jessica Capshaw was a main character on Seasons 7 and 8 of the ABC legal drama The Practice from David E. Kelley. That series ended in 2004 — a full five years before Capshaw roller-skated her way into our hearts as pediatric surgeon Arizona Robbins.
The Offer (Justin Chambers)
After the MAGIC-era's Justin Chambers left Grey's Anatomy in 2020 (in the most unceremonious of fashions, I might add), the actor's next project was on The Offer in 2022. He portrayed Marlon Brando in four episodes of the Paramount+ miniseries.
Knocked Up (Katherine Heigl)
Katherine Heigl starred in several romantic comedies during the years that she was also playing Izzy Stevens on Grey's Anatomy. In addition to The Ugly Truth and 27 Dresses, the actress also starred in 2007's Knocked Up, where she played Alison Scott, the up-and-coming entertainment reporter who tries to make a relationship work with Seth Rogan's Ben after a one-night stand results in pregnancy.
The Flight Attendant (T.R. Knight)
Fans will never forgive Grey's Anatomy for George O'Malley's shocking death, so you'll have to excuse us if we were especially protective of T.R. Knight when he appeared on The Flight Attendant as Davey Bowden, the brother of Kaley Cuoco's Cassie. Knight was a series regular for Season 1, then returned for four episodes in Season 2.
True Blood (Camilla Luddington)
In the weeks leading up to her debut as Jo Wilson on Grey's Anatomy's ninth season, Camilla Luddington portrayed the telepathic faerie Claudette on Season 5 of HBO's fantasy drama True Blood.
The Umbrella Academy (Kate Walsh)
Dr. Addison Montgomery was introduced in the first season of Grey's Anatomy, and after a couple of seasons as a series regular — as well as leading the spinoff Private Practice — Kate Walsh has returned off and on as a guest star for an impressive total of 67 episodes. In recent years, however, she could also be found on Netflix's The Umbrella Academy as The Handler. After appearing in the first two seasons of the sci-fi superhero series, Walsh's character was killed off at the end of Season 2 (but that's not necessarily a spoiler in a show that features time travel, is it?).
And Just Like That... (Sara Ramirez)
Sara Ramirez was a beloved icon on Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Callie Torres, but fans had more of a love/hate relationship with their character Che Diaz on And Just Like That... The actor appeared in the first two seasons of the revival/sequel but was reportedly dropped from Season 3.
Inventing Anna (Alexis Floyd)
With Inventing Anna coming from the mind of Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, it's no surprise that there are a couple of overlaps between the shows. Months before Alexis Floyd joined Grey Sloan Memorial as Simone Griffith, she played Anna Delvey's friend Neff on the Netflix miniseries. Inventing Anna also featured Jeff Perry and Kate Burton, who played Meredith Grey's parents Thatcher and Ellis, respectively, in the medical drama.
Everwood (Sarah Drew)
A few years before Sarah Drew became part of the Grey's Anatomy cast as April Kepner (and later, half of fan-favorite couple Japril), she starred in the third and fourth seasons of Everwood, where she played Hannah Rogers, best friend of Emily VanCamp's Amy and girlfriend of Chris Pratt's Bright.
The Thing About Harry (Jake Borelli, Niko Terho)
In 2020, future Station 19 showrunner Peter Paige wrote and directed the LGBTQ+ rom-com for Freeform called The Thing About Harry, which starred Jake Borelli (aka Grey's Anatomy's Levi Schmitt) as Sam and Niko Terho as the titular Harry, who used to bully Sam in high school. Two years later Terho joined Grey's as the new intern Lucas Adams, who is also Derek Shepherd's nephew, and while Lucas and Levi were in the medical drama at the same time, the doctors did not rekindle the romance their movie characters had.
24 (Kim Raver)
In the role of Jack Bauer's girlfriend Audrey on 24 for Days 4, 5 and 6 was Kim Raver. Audrey and Kiefer Sutherland's character did not have an easy relationship, at least on the days we saw it, as they were often of the belief the other was dead and Audrey was in a catatonic state on Day 6. Raver returned as Audrey for 24: Live Another Day in 2014, five years after her Grey's Anatomy debut as Teddy Altman.
Supergirl (Chyler Leigh)
A few years after Lexi Grey was killed off of the ABC medical drama, Chyler Leigh joined the cast of CBS' Supergirl, where she played Alex Danvers (aka Sentinel), the adoptive sister of the titular superhero.
Fame (Debbie Allen)
Debbie Allen has been involved in far too many esteemed projects to list here, but outside of playing Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy (as well as serving as executive producer), one of the other roles she's mainly known for is Lydia Grant in the 1980 movie Fame and the 1982 series of the same name that followed.
The Cabin In The Woods (Jesse Williams)
Early in his run as Jackson Avery on Grey's Anatomy, Jesse Williams appeared in the 2012 sci-fi/horror flick The Cabin in the Woods. In the movie, he played Holden McCrea, one of a handful of college friends sent to a remote cabin to be picked off by one of a host of monsters as part of an annual ritual.
Euphoria (Eric Dane)
Eric Dane may have been McSteamy over on Grey's Anatomy, but when he jumped from ABC to HBO following Mark Sloan's death, it was a whole new ballgame. On Euphoria, Dane plays Cal Jacobs, the father of Jacob Elordi's Nate, and let's just say the role is way too racey for network television.
The Purge (Adelaide Kane)
Before joining the new intern era of Grey's Anatomy as Jules Millin, Adelaide Kane played Zoey Sandin, daughter of Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey's James and Mary in 2013's The Purge.
You (Scott Speedman)
Scott Speedman took some time away from playing Meredith Grey's love interest Nick Marsh to star in Season 3 of Netflix's You. There he played Matthew Engler, a neighbor of serial killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley).
Friends (Ellen Pompeo, Jason George)
Not only did Ellen Pompeo appear on Friends as Missy Goldberg — a girl both Chandler and Ross had a crush on in college — in Season 10's "The One Where the Stripper Cries," but Jason George (aka Grey's Anatomy and Station 19's Ben Warren) made an appearance as a fireman in Season 7's "The One Where They're Up All Night." The universe must really love seeing George as a firefighter.
Dash And Lily (Midori Francis)
Midori Francis has made her mark on Grey's Anatomy as Mika Yasuda, but back in 2020 she starred in Netflix's Dash & Lily. Unfortunately, the series based on the book by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan was canceled after one season.
Firefly Lane (Katherine Heigl, Greg Germann)
Katherine Heigl starred in Firefly Lane, the 2021 Netflix adaptation of Kristin Hannah's tear-jerking novel. The story follows Tully Hart (Heigl) and Kate Mularkey (Sarah Chalke) through decades of friendship. Greg Germann (who played Tom Koracick on Grey's) joined Season 2 of the Netflix drama in a recurring role as Benedict Binswanger, a man with ties to Tully's past.
Glee (Harry Shum Jr.)
It's unfortunate that Harry Shum Jr. doesn't get to show the extent of his singing and dancing skills as Benson "Blue" Kwan on Grey's Anatomy. But he sure did when he played Mike Chang on Glee from 2009 to 2015. Matthew Morrison, who played the teacher Will Schuester in the musical dramedy, also had a pretty terrifying guest role in Grey's. In four episodes across Seasons 13 and 14, he played Jo Wilson's abusive husband Paul Stadler.
Brick (Nora Zehetner)
Nora Zehetner's time on Grey's, where she played Reed Adamson for 10 episodes in Season 6, came to a brutally quick end, but five years before that, she starred opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Rian Johnson's neo-noir thriller Brick.
Liv And Maddie (Kali Rocha)
Kali Rocha played the overly optimistic Sydney Heron on Seasons 2-4 of Grey's Anatomy and then returned in Season 21. However, she may be better known as Karen Rooney, mother of the titular twins on the Disney Channel series Liv and Maddie.
Trainspotting (Kevin McKidd)
Kevin McKidd is credited with more than 350 appearances on Grey's Anatomy, but before he was trauma specialist Dr. Owen Hunt, he was Tommy in Danny Boyle's 1996 dark comedy Trainspotting.
Ally McBeal (Greg Germann)
Before portraying the polarizing character of Tom Koracick on ABC, Greg Germann played Richard Fish on Ally McBeal. He was on the Fox series for all five seasons as a former law school classmate of Calista Flockhart's title character and a partner at the law firm where they worked.
Emily Owens, M.D. (Kelly McCreary)
When Kelly McCreary made her Grey's Anatomy debut in 2014, some people may have been feeling deja vu. Only a couple of years earlier, McCreary portrayed Tyra Dupre on Emily Owens, M.D., a medical intern at a hospital and daughter of the chief. If Tyra and Emily Owens (Mamie Gummer) had turned out to be half-sisters, I'd be starting to ask some questions.
