Ellen Pompeo recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to comment on her male love interests on the show 'Grey's Anatomy', who were played by Patrick Dempsey and Martin Henderson.
Pompeo had the following to say about actor Dempsey: "For me, Patrick leaving the show was a defining moment, deal-wise. They could always use him as leverage against me - «We don't need you; we have Patrick» - which they did for years. I don't know if they also did that to him, because he and I never discussed our deals. There were many times where I reached out about joining together to negotiate, but he was never interested in that. At one point, I asked 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. 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 actress also spoke about Martin Henderson and his arrival to the show. "So, what does it look like when he (Dempsey) leaves the show? First, it looks like a ratings spike, and I had a nice chuckle about that. But the truth is, the ink wasn't even dry on his exit papers before they rushed in a new guy. I was on vacation in Sicily, decompressing - it was a long working relationship and it was a tumultuous end and I needed a moment to just chill with some rosé - and they're calling me, going, «What do you think of this guy?, What do you think of this guy?» And they're sending pictures. I was like, «Are you people fucking nuts? Why do you feel that you have to replace this person?» I couldn't believe how fast the studio and the network felt like they had to get a penis in there. We brought in Martin Henderson, but they didn't love the storyline, so that ended".
'Grey's Anatomy' is currently in its 14th season!
A millionaire contract
It appears as though 'Grey's Anatomy' plans to stay around for a while. Ellen Pompeo has succeeded in gaining a multi-million dollar contract for two more seasons and also works as a producer for the series. On top of that, the actress will be working as a co-producer on the new spin-off show that focuses on a team of firefighters who work near the hospital.
With regard to money, Pompeo has stated she deserves a total that would make her the best paid actress for a drama TV series. The figure loosely equates to around $550,000 per episode.
