We’ve still got several months to go before Grey’s Anatomy returns to the 2025 TV schedule to reveal who (if anyone) was killed in the explosive Season 21 finale last month. It won’t be long, though, before the actors get back to work on Season 22, and for Scott Speedman, that apparently means switching to decaf. The actor recently revealed why he “had to quit coffee” to be on Grey’s Anatomy, and strange as it sounds, his reason actually makes sense.
Scott Speedman joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy in Season 18, reprising the role of Dr. Nick Marsh from a one-episode guest appearance in Season 14. Many of the longtime series’ actors have said the surgical lingo is hard to nail down, but Speedman seems to actually enjoy it, as he said in Variety’s Actors on Actors series:
The medical-speak, for me, is great. It’s really fun. But I had to quit coffee to do it.
It’s easy to see how Grey’s Anatomy’s stars could get tripped up when having to explain some of the truly wild medical cases that have been featured on the show (or even just your run-of-the-mill apis and CABGs). But it sounds like Scott Speedman does OK, as long as he can keep that resting heart rate down. He continued:
If I get too caffeinated, it’s harder for me to drop into dialogue. What I learned on [Grey’s] is coordination of dialogue with props. They care so much about the surgery. Oh my gosh, you can blow up the hospital and people survive, but when you get to the surgery, like, if I hold the scalpel wrong… There’s this intense nurse who I love — Linda — she’s been there forever and oversees everything. She’s an old-school teacher, and she will put you in your place and yell at you in the best way. I love it.
I’m going to pretend that’s not a spoiler regarding the fates of Chris Carmack’s Link and Nurse Linda (but it does play to my theory that Linda survives) after the Season 21 finale cliffhanger, and just say that I fully respect Scott Speedman’s uncaffeinated process.
I wouldn’t think something like a cup of joe would make such a difference, but I can kind of see how being a little more low-key might help him ease into the rhythm of all that terminology, lest he face the wrath of Nurse Linda.
I absolutely love that little tidbit about longtime producer and surgical consultant Linda Klein, and it doesn’t surprise me at all. This is the show, after all, that preps its actors by having them scrub in on real-life surgeries and will spend two days filming a 30-second surgery scene.
It’s already been confirmed that Ellen Pompeo will return for Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 as Meredith Grey, which likely means her beau Nick Marsh will be there too. Scott Speedman’s character was given the daunting task of replacing Derek Shepherd as Meredith’s love interest, and come to think of it, medical terminology does sound like a walk in the park compared to that — caffeinated or otherwise.
No Season 22 premiere date has been announced yet, but Grey’s Anatomy will presumably air on Thursdays this fall on ABC and stream the next day with a Hulu subscription.
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