ABC/Mitchell Haaseth(NEW YORK) — James Pickens Jr. has portrayed Dr. Richard Webber on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy since its premiere in 2005. But even though Pickens has been on the show since its pilot episode, even he didn’t know about the surprise departure of Patrick Dempsey, who played Dr. Derek Shepherd on the series, until he was killed off when his vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer.
“We didn’t know a whole lot. It was kind of on the fly,” Pickens tells ABC Radio. “So whatever information we got, we pretty much got it kind of right before it happened.”
Pickens says he’ll miss his former co-star, especially since he helped make the show the hit that it is today.
“Obviously Grey’s wouldn’t have been Grey’s without him. He was such an integral part of that. He’s a very, very talented guy,” Pickens says. “His character has become iconic. I mean it’s part of the lexicon of TV. You know…McDreamy, and he had as much to do with that as the writing or anything. He was quite a talent.”
Pickens says it’s hard whenever anyone leaves the Grey’s Anatomy family. “See it’s kind of like a family,” he adds. “We spend as much time — if not more — with th[ose] folks than we do with our actual families. So you better learn how to get along. But I think everybody has a great respect for one another’s talent and what they bring to this process and obviously that makes Grey’s such a phenomenal hit after all these seasons.”
Last season, Pickens’ Dr. Webber found out he had a daughter with his ex-lover, Ellis Grey. The actor says he hopes to explore that relationship next season.
“I’d love to see them delve more into what that relationship can be. He had no biological children of his own until now,” he explains, adding that he’d like his character, who is often busy at Seattle Grace Hospital to “be more available.”
The season finale of Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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