The on-screen antics between the surgeons and interns that made “Grey’s Anatomy” a hit were nothing compared to the drama happening behind the scenes.
The show’s star, Ellen Pompeo, got candid Wednesday about the rocky early years on the ABC hit with fellow powerhouse Taraji P. Henson, who has played fan-favorite character Cookie on Fox’s “Empire” for six years, as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series.
“The first 10 years [on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’] we had serious culture issues, very bad behavior, really toxic work environment.”
“Grey’s Anatomy” has been anchoring the Disney-owned DIS, +0.83% broadcast network’s Thursday lineup for 15 years, and has been renewed for another two seasons, making it the longest-running medical drama on TV. But Pompeo dished that the first 10 years of the show were such a hot mess that she constantly considered quitting.
“My mission became, this can’t be fantastic to the public and a disaster behind the scenes.”
The actresses, who will both turn 49 this year, are two of television’s most powerful women; Pompeo commands more than $20 million a year for “Grey’s,” and Henson a reported $250,000 per episode for “Empire.” But it’s taken them each almost two decades to find their professional voices and get paid what they’re worth.
Pompeo revealed that her co-star and “Grey’s” former leading man Patrick Dempsey was paid almost twice what she was in the first two seasons, because he had done 13 pilots (although none of them ever aired) and she had never worked on TV. “I didn’t even realize until we were renegotiating season three. No one was offering that up,” she said.
But when Dempsey left the show in season 11, he gave Pompeo a new purpose. “The studio and network believed the show could not go on without the male lead. So I had a mission to prove that it could,” said Pompeo.
Henson shared a similar story. She famously asked for half-a-million dollars as the third-billed actress in David Fincher’s movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in 2008 — but could only get $150,000. She received an Oscar nomination for her performance.
“I think the industry knew I was talented. But it’s about money. Are you bankable? I had to continuously prove that,” said Henson, adding that Tyler Perry was the first person to pay her $500,000.
And for the first couple of seasons of “Empire,” she was banking somewhere between $110,000 and $120,000 an episode, less than her co-star Terrence Howard — but once her character took off, she knew the time was right to ask for more money.
“But when all the tweets were about Cookie, I said, ‘It’s time to renegotiate. Can everybody sit down at the table, please?’ I’d been in the game long enough to know the numbers game, and I knew Cookie had become iconic. You need her. So I need my money.”
“My husband says, ‘Closed mouths don’t get fed.’ But if you have to walk, don’t be a victim,” said Pompeo. “If you don’t get what you want, put your big-girl panties on.”
“And bounce,” Henson finished.
Their candid conversation about salary drew praise from men and women on social media — including “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes.
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