Jesse Williams Says ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Had Become ‘Safe,’ Talks Crafting His Exit
Pick Us, Choose Us, Love Us!
For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our Grey's Anatomy Newsletter:
After 12 years as plastics surgeon Dr. Jackson Avery, Jesse Williams exited Grey’s Anatomy in Season 17 in 2021.
Now he is talking about his time on the show in a new interview.
What he was doing on the ABC medical drama had become “increasingly safe, protected, insulated,” Williams told the New York Times. “I knew that as I designed my exit, the next thing I did had to be terrifying. I needed to get out of my comfort zone, I needed to go into a very unknown place.” He now has the Broadway revival of Take Me Out coming up, opening on Monday, April 4. His character, a baseball player, comes out as gay.
While he noted that he’s “not really an actor” as he “didn’t go to acting school,” according to Grey’s showrunner Krista Vernoff, “he was always watching everybody’s artistry and learning from it.” And Sarah Drew (who played Dr. April Kepner) added, “there’s nobody that worked as hard as he did.”
Williams, who joined Grey’s Anatomy in Season 6 in 2009, was last seen on-screen in the Season 17 finale, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” briefly, during a video chat with Dr. Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), who took over his old apartment. His official exit came two episodes earlier, “Tradition,” in which he left Seattle and Grey Sloan for Boston, to head his family’s Fox Foundation. And his ex, April, moved with him (and revealed she was single again), potentially setting up a reunion.
Dr. Tom Koracick (Greg Germann) ended up going with Jackson at the end, though he has since returned a couple times, as part of Dr. Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo) n0 longer top-secret project in Minnesota.
Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC
