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As the television universe of Shonda Rhimes celebrates its 20th anniversary, two of the showrunner’s biggest stars — Katherine Heigl and Jeffrey Dean Morgan — have reflected on their chemistry while filming Grey’s Anatomy.
As a refresher, the pair starred as Izzie Stevens and Denny Duquette in the hospital-based soap, and their love story captured the hearts of legions of fans, even two decades later. While their shared arc throughout seasons one and two of Grey’s Anatomy might’ve ended tragically (seriously, I’m still not quite over it), Heigl and Morgan are the picture of joy and camaraderie offscreen, as showcased in their recent joint interview for Entertainment Weekly. The co-stars dished on whether the clear chemistry between their Grey’s Anatomy characters was the real deal, and thankfully for us romantics, it seems it certainly was.
“It just turned out that it was probably the most chemistry I’ve ever had with an actor in my life, and it just was immediate,” Morgan said of his working relationship with Heigl. “I’ve been chasing that chemistry for 20-some odd years. I need it again.” Echoing the sentiment, Heigl agreed that the pair needed to showcase their chemistry in another project, and even went as far as suggesting that “somebody call Shonda” to organize their next joint TV credit. Best believe I’d be first in line to swoon over this on-screen couple, should Rhimes be wise enough to get cracking on a script!
While Heigl and Morgan’s chemistry was palpable, they revealed that it wasn’t due to any official ‘training,’ since neither of them did a chemistry read before taking on their respective roles. Morgan said the lack of chemistry read was “super freaking weird,” but assumed it likely didn’t happen because Denny’s arc “was written to be, I think, a lot shorter than it ended up being.” The actor said that because showrunners initially planned for a shorter storyline for his character, they probably thought it “doesn’t matter if they have chemistry or not” because “he’s only going to be around for three or four episodes.”
i’ve been rewatching grey’s anatomy and i’ve reached the izzie + denny storyline….i’m crying already…. pic.twitter.com/CeilIL16ud
— 2Karious Donell Johnson (@shayxonline) January 25, 2023
Thankfully, Denny stuck around for longer than that, and his character’s chemistry with Heigl naturally clicked to the point of it being too hard to watch, especially considering Denny’s demise. “I can’t rewatch it,” Morgan said of his character’s farewell in season two. “It makes me cry because it was so awesome, and it was incredibly sad to watch.” Morgan went on to credit that emotional reaction to “working with Heigl and having Shonda’s words,” saying the collaboration was “pretty special.”
While Heigl would also go on to depart from Grey’s Anatomy in season six, Izzie’s love story with Denny still lives on in soap opera canon, so it’s nice to hear that the pair’s chemistry wasn’t just excellent acting. Beyond Grey’s, Morgan has elsewhere starred in The Boys and The Walking Dead: Dead City, while Heigl’s career has spanned projects like 27 Dresses, and Knocked Up. Grey’s has continued its illustrious run despite multiple cast departures, and aired its 21st season back in September of last year. There’s been plenty of love stories beyond Morgan and Heigl’s but perhaps no pairing can ever quite live up to theirs.