Rob Lowe Almost Played THIS Character On Grey’s Anatomy!

Grey’s Anatomy has been on longer than any other medical drama (passing ER this season!), but it could have looked very different!

The show found their perfect Derek Shepherd AKA McDreamy in Patrick Dempsey, but it sounds like the role almost went to another hot hunk!

In fact, Rob Lowe turned down the role of McDreamy and shared the details on the Monday, March 25 episode of the WTF With Marc Maron podcast.

Though Lowe obviously missed out on a lot of money, he’s OK with the decision to not join the ABC medical drama.

“Dude, I turned down Grey’s Anatomy … to play McDreamy. That probably cost me $70 million dollars!” he shared.

“But at the end of the day, I watched it when it came out, and when they started calling the handsome doctor ‘McDreamy,’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s not for me.’”

Lowe also opened up about the casting decision in his book, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. He revealed he had to decide between joining Grey’s Anatomy or a new CBS medical drama, Dr. Vegas.

“I agreed to meet with the people making Grey’s Anatomy. I had read it and loved it — the writing was crisp, real and very entertaining — and it’s always been a good idea to hear out talented people,” he said.

“‘We would be thrilled if you would play Dr. Derek Shepherd,’ they said right off the bat. I was torn. Grey’s was a much better script; in fact, there was no comparison.”

However, he decided to go with Dr. Vegas.

“Year after year after year, all of ABC’s new dramas flopped. CBS was on a hot streak that continues to this day. Although Grey’s was a much better script, I chose Dr. Vegas,” he reasoned.

Would you like to have seen Grey’s with Rob Lowe? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!