#interviews19

"Sexual violence affects nearly every family in America and we wanted to use our platform to raise awareness and remind survivors that they are not alone and they are believed. Part of that message ended up being portrayed in what we ended up calling the “wall of women.” Many survivors feel that their agency has been taken away from them after an assault; part of giving compassionate care afterward is helping the survivor restore their sense of power.

In our episode, you see that Abby needed to see a space that felt safe on her way to the OR. For her, that was a group of women, locked arm in arm, supporting her every step of the way. We’ve seen the power of that in the past few years as survivors have stepped forward to share their stories and pursue justice. The people that “line the hallway” will look different for every survivor of sexual violence, but the support and solidarity is the same."

— What do you love most about being an actress?

“I love taking time to dig deep into other people’s experiences and try to apply them creatively to what a character is going through. I guess we get to constantly still play “make believe”. It always feels exciting even when the material you are doing is emotionally or phsycally challenging.”

— What’s the best advice you have ever received?

“You are enough”. I think so ofter we feel like we have to be something else, someone else, look different, fit in, etc… I really truly hope that Hayden growns up feeling that she is enough! Because she is. We all are.” ♡

While Grey's Anatomy viewers know to expect a roller coaster of emotions within a single episode, that doesn't always soften the blow of the series' many shocking plot twists. Despite getting a behind-the-scenes look at those twists and turns while filming, the Grey's cast isn't necessarily immune to this emotional turmoil, either. For Camilla Luddington, who plays Grey's surgeon Jo Karev, there's one scene in Season 9 involving Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Callie (Sara Ramirez) that's stuck with her since the episode first aired in May 2013.

"It's the moment when Callie discovers Arizona's wedding rings on the other doctor, and she realizes that she's been cheated on," Luddington reveals to Bustle of the scene following Arizona's hookup with Dr. Lauren Boswell (Hilarie Burton). "I did not know that was going to happen in the table read, and I just remember thinking like, 'Ahh!' I was losing my mind. I was like on the floor crying, it was so shocking."

That's not the only thing that Luddington mulls over when she thinks about the series, either. Like many superfans of the ABC medical drama, she even has her own fantasy scenarios for Jo. Luddington's dream costar from the years prior to her joining the series in Season 9: Chyler Leigh, who played Dr. Lexie Grey from 2007-2012. Unfortunately, Lexie met her demise in the Grey's Season 8 finale, but Luddington says she thinks Leigh is "super talented" and wishes she'd gotten the chance to meet her.

She even has some ideas for hypothetical Jo and Lexie scenes. "I think it would be really funny if they had met when they were kind of single and denying that they were in love with the guys that they're in love with," she adds, referencing Eric Dane's "McSteamy" Mark Sloan and Jo's now-husband Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers). "Seeing them try to be single girls while denying being desperately in love would have made for some good comedy."

Since Lexie couldn't realistically return to the show (in the flesh, anyway), the Grey's character Luddington wishes she could bring back is Capshaw's "hysterical" Arizona, who last appeared in the show's Season 15 finale. Though she admits that she's biased because the actor is one of her best friends in real life (Capshaw recently attended her wedding to Matthew Alan in Aug. 2019), Luddington wishes the duo had more onscreen moments together.

"She had so many scenes with April (Sarah Drew) where they're just like getting drunk together that were just amazing. I would have loved to have been part of them," explains Luddington.

Although the British actor promises Jo and Alex's relationship is "super solid right now," she also experiences the same anxiety viewers do in regard to happily ever afters on Grey's. Luddington admits that she worries each season and "every episode is concerning" to her.

"Any time they're happy, I'm just like, 'uh-oh, what's going to happen?' she jokes. "One of the great scary things about Grey's Anatomy is that you can love a couple and they can completely turn around and break up and your heart is broken too, as a fan. But it makes for great drama."

Aside from Jo and Alex, of course, Luddington says her favorite Grey's couple of the moment is Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Link (Chris Carmack). Explains the actor: "It's funny because I loved her and Owen (Kevin McKidd) together, but they just have such great chemistry. I was like, 'wait a second.' I'm super in, sold. I'm rooting for them!".