Ellen Pompeo Said She Took ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Role Because She Was Broke

• Ellen Pompeo said she originally auditioned for “Grey’s Anatomy” because she was broke.
• She said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that she really wanted to act in films.
• “Grey’s Anatomy” ended up being her breakout role, making her $20 million a year by 2018.

Ellen Pompeo said she accepted the lead role in “Grey’s Anatomy” for the money after going broke trying to start a movie career.

“Grey’s Anatomy,” which debuted in 2005 and is now on its 21st season, was the first series created by Shonda Rhimes and was the foundation of her TV production empire that includes “Scandal,” “Bridgerton” and “How To Get Away With Murder.”

In a new episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Pompeo said she didn’t initially want to join a TV series because she wanted to be a movie star.

“I had all these people call me and tell me how amazing I am and I should stay on this track. Why are you trying to derail me and put me over here?” Pompeo recalled.

At the time, Pompeo had supporting roles in films including “Daredevil” and “Catch Me If You Can,” but was yet to get a big break.

“I was trying to be in good movies with great directors, but they were only really small parts, so I kept doing those. I kept getting cut out of those, and then I had no money left,” she said.

Pompeo said her agent eventually persuaded her to join “Grey’s Anatomy.” The agent said she could make money from the pilot episode and the show wouldn’t get picked up by a network, meaning she could return to her movie career.

“Grey’s Anatomy” did get picked up and became Pompeo’s breakout role and her main acting gig. In 2023, the actor scaled back to a recurring role to do other projects.

Pompeo hasn’t said what she was paid initially for the show, but by the 2010s Forbes had begun listing the actor as one of the highest-paid actors on TV.

In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter said Pompeo had negotiated a new deal to make more than $20 million a year, including a salary of $575,000 per episode.

Pompeo said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast she spoke to Rhimes to get her blessing before asking for the raise, even though Rhimes had no control over the decision.

“I don’t want to come off crazy, and I want to let her know what moves I’m making because I do respect her,” Pompeo said. “She was like, ‘Yeah, no one’s going to give it to you — you have to ask for it.'”