During the third season of ABC's
Grey's Anatomy, Dr. Burke, played by
Isaiah Washington, suffered a gun shot wound that left him bedridden and out of commission. In came
Brooke Smith's Dr. Erica Hahn, a cardiothoracic surgeon at a neighboring hospital who substituted for Burke at Seattle Grace. While Smith loved the role, she wasn't expecting it to become a permanent gig.
“I didn't really think it was going to work out,” Smith told
The Daily News.
Your Take
SoccerMomtoMandL said:
Hahn seems like the same character on Grey's that she was on Crossing Jordan. It's like her character just...
BuddyDebbie said:
I agree with SomethingToBe. This show always claims that it's about strong women, but none of the women ar...
Ratt1222 said:
I liked her on Crossing Jordon she was a very hard person to get to know and so far from what I have seen I...
However, things took a different turn when the network decided not to renew Washington's contract. With the actor out of the show and his character out of Seattle Grace, Smith was called back to not only to reprise her role, but to act as the hospital's new head of cardiothoracic surgery.
Apart from it being a full-time job, Brooke Smith decided to give
Grey's Anatomy another go because it gives her the chance to explore a character for a longer period of time.
“When I work on something that has a beginning, middle and end, I can create an arc. With Dr. Hahn, I need to figure out who she is,” Smith said.
With that in mind, the 40-year-old actress has been busy doing research, which includes watching heart surgery at a Los Angeles hospital and enlisting the help of the real surgical nurses who are assigned to the operating room on the show.
“It really stressed me out a lot,” she said. “I didn't go to medical school. I have no idea what it really is to be a surgeon and yet I have to act like I am really good at it.”
Fans, however, will have to wait a little longer before seeing Brooke Smith and the rest of the
Grey's Anatomy cast at work, as the WGA strike has caused production to shut down for an indefinite period of time.
“I am sort of out of work,” Smith said, noting the ironic situation she has found herself in. “I thought for the first time, I am going to have stability. That lasted for almost two months.”
On the upside, Smith believes the strike will end soon.
“I am ready to go back, already,” she said.
Who do you think is a better head of Cardiothoracic surgergy?
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: The Daily News
(Image Courtesy of ABC)