‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Jake Borelli Says Levi Is ‘at a Crossroads’

Jake Borelli as Levi in Grey's Anatomy
Q&A
ABC/Liliane Lathan

Dr. Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli) is really going through it right now on Grey’s Anatomy, and there doesn’t seem to be a bright light in sight for him.

After a patient died on his table, Levi couldn’t make it through the M&M (morbidity and mortality conference) and hasn’t been back to the hospital since. When his boyfriend, Dr. Nico Kim (Alex Landi) tried to talk to him, Levi say they were “done.” Then, when Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) stopped by, Levi told him, “I appreciate you coming here … trying to salvage my career, rescue me. But you’re too late. I’ve already bled out. There’s nothing left to save.”

Borelli takes us inside this arc, teases what’s ahead, and shares who might have the best shot at getting through to Levi.

Would you say Levi’s hit rock bottom yet, or does he feel like he has?

Jake Borelli: I think right now he’s experiencing burnout, which a lot of doctors and a lot of people in the medical field are feeling obviously from the last couple of years, and he’s still going through it. Whether it’s rock bottom, I think we’ll have to wait and find out, but he’s definitely starting to burn a lot of the bridges in his life. So I think for the first time, Levi can’t see the silver lining in this. He’s a little hopeless right now.

Do you think that he would’ve reacted the same way if COVID hadn’t been part of the Grey’s world?

We saw Levi really excel at the beginning of this season. And half of what’s going on, I think, is the fact that he rose high and he was proud of himself for the first time and it makes this fall even worse for him. I also think the past two years of the pandemic really took a toll on him. We saw him at the beginning of Season 17, he was telling the 100th family member at the hospital that their person had died from COVID. So he’s definitely been through a lot. I think everything adds on one another.

Jake Borelli as Levi in Grey's Anatomy

ABC/Liliane Lathan

Based on his conversation with Richard in the last episode, it seems he’s giving up on being a doctor. And then there’s the Richard of it, because it was the Webber method that he was following. It’s all mixed up for him, right?

It’s all a gray area for him right now, but he was the most firm I’ve ever seen him when he was talking to his boyfriend and he said that they’re over. He was the most firm I’ve ever seen him with Richard saying that he’s quit and he’s not coming back to the hospital. And we have to remember, Richard and Miranda Bailey [Chandra Wilson] and Catherine Fox [Debbie Allen] are the top three people in terms of how he is going to sustain his job and he’s burned a lot of those bridges. So he seems pretty adamant about not being a doctor anymore.

You brought up that last conversation with Nico. What did he mean in that moment by saying they’re “done”? What’s their relationship status right now?

In my opinion, they’re broken up. They’ve gone through quite a bit and they’ve had a hard time communicating and navigating how to support one another. And I think now that Levi is, for lack of a better term, at rock bottom, like you were saying, he’s pushing Nico away and he doesn’t feel like he needs the support from Nico, which I feel like is the cornerstone of a relationship. So it seems as if they’re broken up.

Alex Landi as Nico, Jake Borelli as Levi in Grey's Anatomy

ABC/John Fleenor

What can you tease is coming up for them?

Whatever it is, it’s going to be a rocky road.

Take me inside Levi’s head going into the next time we see him. What’s he up to? Still in the basement?

Yeah, he’s in the basement right now. I think he’s going to spend a long time in the basement. It’s going to take a lot for him to get over this stuff. It really hit him hard.

He said that playing the video game was helping him. What else is going to help him going forward?

For people who play video games, I feel like you can sort of get caught in that loop, and I think he’s going to be there for a while.

Chris Carmack, Jake Borelli, Camilla Luddington in Grey's Anatomy

ABC/Eric McCandless

We’ve seen Nico and Richard try to reach Levi. Who’s going to be the next to try?

Grey’s really supports their own. So I would love to see other people come and try to support Levi, but it doesn’t seem like he’s really willing to take in any of that support now.

Based on where he is, the last time that we saw him, who do you think has the best shot at getting through to him? Does anyone at all?

I would’ve thought that Richard could get through to him. If anyone could, it’s Richard and it didn’t seem like he did much groundwork there. He might need to heal a little bit before anyone could really get to him.

What does he want to do now if he really feels he’s done being a doctor?

I think he’s in shock. He’s in the middle of burnout and he’s in shock. When I felt similar emotions to that, it’s hard to see a path. So I don’t know that he sees one right now.

Jake Borelli as Levi in Grey's Anatomy

ABC/Liliane Lathan

What’s been the most challenging scene to film during this arc?

I would say the M&M was a pretty intense day because there was a lot of people in that auditorium and a lot of the characters that Levi has looked up to for a long time. And it was an interesting balancing act, seeing him try to be professional around these people, but also know that because of the trauma he had gone through, he couldn’t be. Playing that dichotomy was really fun and interesting for me.

If Levi does return to the hospital at some point in the future, how do you think this experience is going to change him as a doctor?

I hope he returns. I really, really hope he returns. I’m not sure quite yet how it’s going to affect him. Hopefully in a good way, but that’s not always the case on Grey’s.

What about Levi and Helm [Jaicy Elliot]? We saw how this is affecting her.

Yeah. And I think that’s interesting too, that we got to see how other people were being affected by it too, because this wasn’t something that only Levi went through, this death or this burnout. And so it’s interesting to see how people overlooked Taryn because she was so strong on the outside, but clearly there’s things going on inside of everyone.

What else is coming up for Levi?

At this point, all I see is the basement for a while. So we’ll see. Hopefully someone can pull him out of there.

With Grey’s already renewed, what would you like to see going forward for Levi?

There’s so much I would want to explore with Levi. At this point, it’s just whether or not he decides to continue as a doctor because there were so many hopes and dreams that I had for Levi, seeing him specialize or seeing him find true love with Nico or find true love with somebody else. There’s just a lot that could happen. But I think right now we’re at a crossroads and we sort of need to take it one step at a time.

I really want to see conversation between Levi and Meredith [Ellen Pompeo] with everything that’s happened.

Me too. I love Meredith-Levi scenes. Those are so fun.

Could she get through to him right now?

Her name’s on the hospital. I feel like that would be a good shot. [Laughs]

Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC