Ellen Pompeo explains why she stayed on Grey’s Anatomy for 20 years

Ellen Pompeo has recently revealed why she stayed on Grey’s Anatomy for 20 years.

The 55-year-old actress has not been the focus of the hit medical drama since 2022. Still, she’s playing the role of Dr. Meredith Grey over the past three seasons even though she appeared in a few episodes.

Dishing out real reason, Ellen said, “Had I been chasing critical acclaim, I wouldn't have stayed on Grey's for so long.”

Therefore, the Daredevil actress mentioned that it wasn't always the “most important thing” to her.

However, now, Ellen pointed out that this would definitely, probably help her in this next chapter of her story as she moved on from Grey's, doing other roles.

The Old School actress told The Hollywood Reporter that she didn’t crave recognition, rather she “craved” the sort of “financial and job security situation more than I did critical accolades — that's why I stayed on the show”.

Elsewhere in the interview, Ellen opened up about putting a lot into the Grey’s Anatomy show.

“The companies that own the show and stream the show make a lot of money from our images and our voices and our faces,” continued the Good American Family star.

Ellen stated, “If I were to walk away completely, everybody gets to make money from my hard work for 20 years and I wouldn't make any money.”

“To me, it doesn't make any sense that everybody [else] gets to profit off of my hard work. And emotionally, the show means a lot to people. I want to have an attitude of gratitude toward the show,” added the actress.