Ellen Pompeo gets brutally honest about 'Grey's Anatomy', 'tumultuous' Patrick Dempsey drama
Meredith Grey is not here to play.
Ellen Pompeo's recent sit-down with The Hollywood Reporter reveals how the Grey's Anatomy star ferociously negotiated her US $20 million salary -- and finally got the pay she deserved after 14 seasons.
Of course, her victory was not without its hurdles, which included some major beef with her former co-star (and on-screen husband), Patrick Dempsey, and an uphill battle with an industry in need of systemic change.
RELATED: Rebel Wilson just won her defamation case, but it isn't really a victory
According to 48-year-old Pompeo -- who has starred as Meredith Grey since the pilot episode in 2005 -- it was only after 52-year-old Dempsey was killed off (a departure she describes as a "tumultuous end") that she was paid the highest salary on set.
"For me, Patrick leaving the show [in 2015] was a defining moment, deal-wise," she told THR. "They could always use him as leverage against me—'We don’t need you; we have Patrick'—which they did for years."
As the seasons passed, she attempted to negotiate her salary, and even reached out to Dempsey for them to negotiate together, but he was never interested.
"At one point, I asked [showrunners] for $5,000 more than him just on principle, because the show is Grey’s Anatomy and I’m Meredith Grey. They wouldn’t give it to me," she recalled. "And I could have walked away, so why didn’t I? It’s my show; I’m the number one.
"I’m sure I felt what a lot of these other actresses feel: Why should I walk away from a great part because of a guy? You feel conflicted but then you figure, 'I’m not going to let a guy drive me out of my own house.'"
The brutally honest chat also sees the mother-of-three recount her disdain when she was presented with the idea of doing Grey's. As she explains, her goal was to be a film actress, and the only point of doing Grey's was to pay her rent.
"I was like, 'I’m not going to be stuck on a medical show for five years,'" she recalled telling her agent. "'Are you out of your f---in' mind?'"
But her initial horror soon melted away, as she embarked on a trajectory that would eventually see her become the highest-paid actress in a primetime drama. A milestone she credits to her boss and mentor (and Grey's creator), Shonda Rhimes,who empowered her to overcome her own self-doubt.
With Dempsey gone, Pompeo's most-recent contract agreement will see her paid US $575,000 per episode of Grey's, raking in over US $20 million per year.
"I know that's the industry perception because I've been this character for 14 years," she said. "But the truth is, anybody can be good on a show season one and two. Can you be good 14 years later? Now, that's a f----' skill."
