Story highlights
Ellen Pompeo is considering leaving acting once "Grey's Anatomy" is done
The actress says she feels like she's transitioning
At 44, she doesn't necessarily want to work for other people
Despite all the buzz, Ellen Pompeo is not retiring from acting. Not yet, anyway.
The idea of Pompeo leaving the business was raised during a BuzzFeed Brews session Wednesday, when the “Grey’s Anatomy” star said “she doesn’t have a strong desire to continue to act” after the series ends.
“I definitely feel myself transitioning,” Pompeo said during the panel. “I don’t find acting terribly empowering.”
But Pompeo clearly isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. She starts her 11th season on the ABC medical drama this fall after signing a new two-year contract in January. The 44-year-old actress has played “Grey’s” title character, Meredith Grey, since the Shonda Rhimes-created series premiered in 2005.
Pompeo was joined at Wednesday’s event by “Scandal’s” Kerry Washington and “How to Get Away with Murder’s” Viola Davis – two stars who work on shows also created by Rhimes. The actresses were asked what their dream roles would be, which prompted Pompeo’s response about her vision for her future.
“For the place I am in my life, I think my age – once I hit 40, I feel differently,” Pompeo continued. “I don’t necessarily want to work for other people.”
Can she see herself walking away from acting altogether? “Oh absolutely,” Pompeo, replied, with a caveat: “I would never say never, I’m not going to come out there and make one of those statements (about retiring).”
“I try to keep an open heart, and an open mind, and an open soul and spirit to whatever comes my way, and whatever is meant to be for me will be.”
As of now, it’s producing that’s caught Pompeo’s interest. It’s something she finds challenging and fun, and feeling challenged is important to her, she told the panel.
“I feel like the acting has been a wonderful opportunity and I guess I’ve just done so much of it over the past, you know, 11 years, that I don’t know – maybe part of my personality is that I feel like I have something to prove sometimes, and with acting, I feel like I don’t have anything to prove anymore.”
In the meantime, “Grey’s Anatomy” fans have at least two more years of Meredith Grey to enjoy. The new season of “Grey’s” premieres on September 25.