Sarah Drew opens up about returning to Grey's Anatomy. Image Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Sarah Drew is back in the scrubs.
Actress Sarah Drew, who played Dr. April Kepner on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, recently appeared for the show’s 400th episode and was seen back in the scrubs and with Dr. Jackson Avery, played by actor Jesse Williams. (Oh, by the way, the finale episode finally answers the highly anticipated #Japril question).
Sarah Drew, ahead of the finale episode’s premiere, spoke with Laura Studarus and spoke about how coming back to the Grey’s Anatomy set made her feel. She said that she just loves April Kepner, who has been a huge part of her life and described her as a sister, and added that she loves to hop back in her shoes whenever she has a chance.
The actress was also asked about whether she ever looks back at April Kepner’s journey and sees how things and her actions would have been, along with being appreciative and compassionate for her. Sarah Drew said that she loves to take a look at April Kepner’s journey and sometimes feels that taking a break from April and seeing nature was good for her because the storylines are traumatic and it was hard for her to detach her body and spirit from what was going on with April on the show. But she mentioned that at the same time, knowing that her story resonated with a lot of people and gave them hope, and still does, makes her grateful for the character.
Sarah Drew also added that, according to her, April Kepner’s journey has a lot of pain and joy together experiences that people can resonate with and she certainly does that too, and one of them was losing her first baby. She added that after that, a lot of people spoke to her about their journeys through miscarriages and losing babies, and it was almost like that April and Jackson’s story of losing their child gave those parents a safe space to think and feel everything they wanted to feel. She revealed that she was herself pregnant with her daughter then and they filmed the labor-delivery death scene of Samuel for 10 hours she went into premature labor and her daughter was in the NICU and now she is healthy and great and Sarah described those moments as God moments.
Sarah also pointed out that April Kepner's crisis-of-faith plotline from season 14 is one of the most popular since many people can relate to losing one's identity and sense of self. The actress went on to say that the scene with the rabbi was a tremendous catharsis for a lot of people, including herself, and that she returns to it anytime she's furious at God or unable to comprehend what's going on in the world. Sarah Drew dwelled deeper and shared that while on the set she always had examples like Sandra Oh, who played Cristina Yang on the show, as someone who advocated for herself, had her voice, and was always giving writers an idea about her character, and that’s when she thought that if Sandra can do it, she can too.
Eventually, Sarah Drew shared that she was invited to participate in April Kepner’s journey, especially her faith journal, and that made her feel empowered. She recalled that after giving birth to her daughter, she struggled with some postpartum and anxiety and that would throw her off tremendously while filming, and it was getting hard for her, so she spoke to Shonda Rhimes, and she told Sarah that she wouldn’t be working the second half of a Friday because she had to shoot an all-nighter on a Friday night since she did not have help on the weekends. Sarah added that she wishes everyone would be as understanding and compassionate as Shonda Rhimes and that there was not a culture of fear of women becoming mothers in the industry.
Sarah Drew mentioned that a friend of hers who was going through a divorce told her that watching Grey’s Anatomy was a healing process for her and she found online groups where her friend would chat with people about Grey’s and find out that they were going through the same thing. Sarah Drew, who is one of the most loved actors, added that there is something about being able to witness and feel the characters on-screen go through such big, earth-shattering things and find their way, which helps the audience to know that the show is a safe place. It’s cathartic, she added.
She concluded that people love to watch characters they see themselves in, and the show believes in giving voice to so many people out there, so that’s what has kept the show going. The audience loves how they are represented, seen, and loved on-screen. Sarah Drew will be seen in a Christian rom-com, "Reindeer Games", an upcoming Apple TV+ show, "Amber Brown", and a movie about German immigrants.
The 400th episode of Grey's Anatomy is now streaming on ABC.
