Kim Raver gets candid about what it’s like to be a director on set Grey’s Anatomy.
The 24 The alum, 55, plays Dr. Teddy Altman on the show and had the opportunity to direct a season 19 episode titled “Training Day,” which aired in March 2023.
During a panel at the D23 fan event in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, Raver reflected on why being a woman working on a show created by Shonda Rhimes is different than working on many other sets in the entertainment industry.
“I came to work where it was just… there [were] a lot of men, which is great — I love you all,” she joked, before adding that she “didn’t get to see a lot of women doing a lot of work.”
Kim Raver on the set of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.
ABC/Raymond Liu
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That changed for her on “Shondaland,” she said, because there are opportunities for women — and other cast members — to get behind the camera.
But that doesn’t mean that Raver got the chance to direct right away or that the preparation process was easy.
The Lipstick Jungle alum gave a shout out to her co-stars Kevin McKidd (who told the audience at the panel that she’s in the middle of directing her 42nd episode for the series) and Chandra Wilson for being “incredibly supportive” of her training process.
Grey’s Anatomy Stars Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver on Creating a ‘Safe Place’ on Set Amid On-Screen ‘Trauma’
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Kim Raver is filming ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.
ABC/Liliane Lathan
“Everyone wanted me to do my best, which was an amazing feeling, but I also got to see other women directing and other women editing and writing and running the show,” Raver recalled.
It was clear to her that although she had directed one previous film (for a TV movie called Tempting fate), directing opportunities don’t just happen Grey’s Anatomy actors.
“You really, really really they have to work hard,” Raver told the audience.
She said she persisted in seeking the opportunity to direct and was eventually allowed to shadow Grey’s Anatomy actress, director and executive producer Debbie Allen.
Ellen Pompeo is scheduled to appear in 7 episodes Grey’s Anatomy Season 21
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Kim Raver and Kevin McKidd on the set of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.
ABC/Raymond Liu
“It was like training for Russian ballet,” Raver said of the experience, drawing laughter from the audience. “It was like… being a shadow, which means being here but not being seen and not bothering.”
The Night at the museum the star laughed as she recalled squeezing behind the camera to capture “as much as possible”.
In the end, Raver said she was grateful to be given a “huge” episode to direct with several stunts and a serious theme.
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“I just really had fun and I really loved it and I felt really well prepared and so incredibly supported,” she said, after noting the fact that Wilson, 54, gave her lots of notes and wisdom.
Some other actresses who got the chance to direct Grey’s Anatomy episodes or webisodes include Ellen Pompeo and Sarah Drew, whose webisode series B team was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2018.
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