For Jason George, it was an exciting challenge to sign on to another Shonda Rhimes-produced show.
George has been on “Grey’s Anatomy” since 2010, playing Dr. Ben Warren, the passionate albeit impulsive underdog, who after years at the hospital, switched from an attending anesthesiologist to a surgical resident.
This season Ben surprised audiences when he revealed to wife, Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), that he wanted to make the switch to fighting fires, a setup that signaled a spinoff show in “Station 19.”
As part of a new ensemble cast, George has the rare opportunity to expand on Ben’s arc and the challenges that ensue, as he finally finds his home as a firefighter.
Jason George sat down with amNewYork to discuss this new chapter.
One of the most socially relevant storylines of “Grey’s” was its recent look at Black Lives Matter, which featured a powerful speech Miranda and Ben gave to their son Tuck about interacting with police. How was it filming that?
The response was fantastic. I remember one particular tweet from a white woman who said she had intellectually understood, but when she had to see a look on a 12-year-old kid’s face as his parents are hitting him with harsh realities of the world, she said that brought her a whole new level of understanding for her. That’s what television is about.
We’ve been hearing the words “inclusion rider” recently. Shonda has pushed through diverse casts in her shows since the dawn of time. So it’s nice to see yet another talented and diverse cast with “Station 19.”
Exactly, and it’s not the point of the show, which is why it’s “the point.” It’s not a story about a Latina [Jaina Lee Ortiz], it’s a great story that happens to star a Latina, and that’s going to color everything else and change perceptions of things. If I say firefighter, you’re not going to think of a 5-foot-something woman. You want to challenge people’s perception because if the story is never put out there then you assume it never happened but the reality is there are tons of female firefighters.
Did the crossover event give you some relief going into this new chapter?
I remember there was a line in the show that perfectly mirrored what I was experiencing. Ben says to Miranda, “I never stopped to think what I’ve been giving up.” And she said, “Oh no, you’ve thought about it plenty. You just didn’t stop to feel it, just take a second and feel it.” And the last day I was shooting, that was exactly what I was doing. Intellectually, I knew I wanted to go after this new challenge and I wasn’t completely giving up “Grey’s” but when I’m shooting my last episode as a series regular, it still hit me.
You have an amazing scene partner in Chandra. Will we see that relationship on “Station 19?”
I count myself lucky that it’s not ending with this show. It just strengthens it and put a whole new dimension to it. For Ben, he’s beginning to realize how much Miranda worries. Figuring out how it works for them is going to take work. These things can tear apart marriages — whether it’s the inability to share or the desire to never know. They aren’t out of the woods yet.
How do you think Ben’s passion and impulsivity will be explored on “Station 19?”
That’s going to be a source of problems for Ben for a while. It’s going to be the thing that will get him some respect and will get him put in the doghouse at the station on the regular. Sometimes, you have to be OK with that. You say, “I did what I did, and I know it was against the rules but I’d do it again.”
And because of that he’s an outlier and has something to prove. Where do you think that comes from?
It was something that I sparked to and was like, “Have y’all been following me around?” It’s one of the joys of doing long-form television. You’ll get surprised by things but at the same time, there’s a conversation that happens with the writers and performers where you start creating this collaborative voice together.
‘Station 19’ airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.
