Five Casting Moves That Would’ve Completely Changed Grey’s Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy has been on-air for 15 seasons and was just recently picked up for at least two more seasons, which means we’re in for our fair share of new characters and casting decisions.

Though most of us probably couldn’t picture our favorite characters being played by other actors, there were some decisions made that could’ve completely changed the show all together.

Find out which two actors were almost cast to play McDreamy and who was very close to being Miranda Bailey!

Another Steamy McDreamy?
Rob Lowe was offered the role of Derek Shepherd, AKA McDreamy, but he decided to turn it down! Lowe really liked the script and thought it was well written, but he actually chose a different medical drama instead, Dr. Vegas, which only ran for 10 episodes. Oops!

A Different Bailey
Sandra Oh was actually offered the role of Dr. Miranda Bailey, but she wanted to play the character of Cristina Yang instead. Though Oh would’ve been a great Bailey because she’s a fantastic actress, it’s almost impossible to picture anyone else but Chandra Wilson playing that part.

Derek Shepherd Could’ve Been Different
Along with Lowe being offered the part of Derek, Isaiah Washington — who went on to play Dr. Preston Burke — also auditioned to play McDreamy. The producers obviously decided to go with Dempsey instead, but they certainly found a suitable role for the impressive Washington.

Nurse Instead of Doctor
Jessica Capshaw played Dr. Arizona Robbins for 10 seasons, but that wasn’t the first character she auditioned for! In fact, Capshaw actually originally auditioned for the role of Nurse Rose, the character who dates Derek Shepherd for a few episodes. While she would’ve been a great nurse, we’re glad Capshaw played Arizona.

Someone Almost Said “No”
The entire show revolves around the performance of Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, but Pompeo was close to saying no to the show altogether. At the time of the casting, Pompeo wasn’t exactly sold on being a television actress.

However, she was told there’d be a good chance the show wouldn’t even be picked up, so she decided to give it a go. Now here we are 15 seasons later!