Why Sandra Oh’s Grey’s Anatomy exit left Kevin McKidd guessing

AS Sandra Oh departs Grey’s Anatomy where does that leave the man who is yin to Dr Cristina Yang?

GREY'S ANATOMY - ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" stars Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang. (ABC/Bob D'Amico) Picture: Supplied

WHEN Sandra Oh decided to leave Grey’s Anatomy, Kevin McKidd worried he would be out of a job too.

The Scottish-born actor, 40, who plays Dr Owen Hunt, was ready to hit the unemployment line.

Hunt, specifically created as a love interest for Oh’s character, Cristina Yang, joined Grey’s in season five as a US Army trauma surgeon who had served in Iraq.

Later, he returned to Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital to become the new head of trauma surgery and eventually, chief of surgery.

McKidd’s role was upgraded from a multi-episode storyline to series regular as viewers embraced the Hunt/Yang combo. Critics called them electrifying.

But that looked headed for the scrap heap when Oh announced last year she was quitting Grey’s, after ten seasons.

“I kind of knew it (Oh leaving) was coming,” McKidd says. “I wrestled with it (Oh’s decision) because Owen Hunt was created to be attached to Cristina Yang.

“In the spirit of that original conception I was (thinking) ‘well, maybe I should leave the show … maybe I should let these characters leave together and let that be their mythology and their final history’, which is a very romantic notion.

“But then there’s practicalities in your life like (paying) the bills, so I really wrestled with that.”

A meeting with Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes convinced McKidd to stay.

“She feels very passionate that there is a lot more to look at with Owen Hunt,” McKidd says.

“When he becomes detached by necessity from Cristina, there is going to be this whole other layer that we’ve never ever gotten to know.

“That got me excited … because if there was nothing else (for Hunt to do) then I should move on.”

Staying on ... Kevin McKidd thought he faced unemployment when co-star Sandra Oh left the show. Picture: Supplied

It didn’t make Oh’s exit in the Season 10 finale any easier to bear.

“Sandra and I have been friends since I started on the show,” McKidd says. “I find it really hard to know that Sandra is leaving.”

One of the reasons Hunt resonates with viewers is his humanity — especially in his struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

His relationship with Yang threatened to unravel when, affected by his condition, he unconsciously strangled her. After therapy, they rekindled their romance.

Yang’s love and devotion helped Hunt find his feet and heal in recent seasons.

“When we met Owen Hunt he was whole, but then when we met him again he was broken by experience in a war,” McKidd says.

“To see him go from that (broken to healing) is a message that’s going out there because there are so many people struggling with it (PTSD).

“There’s a lot of prejudice about these kinds of mental health issues. To tell the story of this guy who was a person struggling with this mental health issue to becoming the chief of surgery at a hospital is an interesting and hopefully affirming message to put out there.”

McKidd does double-duty on Grey’s. As well as acting, he’s directed seven episodes of the medical drama in the past three years.

“When I first directed I thought everybody was going to be horrible to me,” McKidd laughs. “Everyone was fantastic, but they still challenged me in a way that directors should be challenged. It (directing) is kind of like going to a mental gymnasium. And when you’re editing, you’re suddenly using a completely different part of your mind.”

Juggling acting and directing can be a challenge.

“I remember acting a scene with Sandra after I’d been in the editing room for two days,” Hunt recalls. “Sandra took me aside and said ‘Are you OK? What’s going on? Your acting’s really bad today’.

“I said: ‘I’ve just been editing and I can’t turn off that part of my mind’.”

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Originally published as Why Sandra Oh’s Grey’s Anatomy exit left Kevin McKidd guessing