00:00It's been almost 13 years since Grey's Anatomy debuted on ABC and introduced the
00:04world to Ellen Pompeo, who, of course, plays the show's title character, Meredith Grey.
00:09Although the instant success of the Shonda Rhimes show meant that Pompeo had to
00:12wave goodbye to her dreams of being a movie star, she's been handsomely
00:16compensated in other ways. Her now $20 million a year paycheck, for example.
00:20In late 2017, the actress signed a new deal that will make her dramatic
00:24television's highest-earning actress. The expansive pact covers Grey's current
00:28season and a 15th and 16th season after that.
00:31Rhimes has said that the show will go on as long as her star wants to do it, and
00:35Pompeo credits Rhimes with empowering her to overcome any doubt she may have had
00:39about her own worth and to demand the best possible deal.
00:43Luckily, Pompeo had plenty of leverage. Grey's has been drawing nearly 12 million
00:47viewers 300-plus episodes in, making it ABC's No. 2 drama, behind only fall 2017
00:53entry The Good Doctor. And the show, which airs in some 220 territories around the
00:57world, is a multi-billion dollar franchise for ABC parent Disney. Rhimes recalls giving
01:02her star a simple piece of advice,
01:04In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter's Lacey Rose, Pompeo explains that at 48 years old,
01:14she has finally gotten to a place where she feels comfortable with asking for what she deserves.
01:19She acknowledges, however, that it's something that comes with age.
01:23Because I'm not the most relevant actress out there, she says, I know that's the industry
01:27perception because I've been this character for 14 years. But the truth is, anybody can be good
01:32on a show season 1 and 2. Can you be good 14 years later? Now, that's a fucking skill.
01:37Co-star Patrick Dempsey's departure in 2015 meant much more to Pompeo than the tragic death of her
01:42on-screen soulmate. It meant a change in the way the actress was able to negotiate her worth.
01:47They could always use him as leverage against me, she reveals. We don't need you, we have Patrick,
01:52which they did for years. There were many times where I reached out about joining together to
01:57negotiate, but he was never interested in that. At one point, I asked for $5,000 more than him
02:02just on principle because the show is Grey's Anatomy and I'm Meredith Grey. They wouldn't give it to me.
02:07You feel conflicted, but then you figure, I'm not going to let a guy drive me out of my own house.
02:13The actress continues,
02:14When it comes to feeling worthy of her hefty salary, Pompeo admits to worrying about being
02:25perceived as greedy. However, upon learning that Grey's has generated nearly $3 billion for Disney,
02:30Pompeo's concerns went away. The actress reasons,
02:34when your face and your voice have been part of something that's generated $3 billion for one
02:39of the biggest corporations in the world, you start to feel like, OK, maybe I do deserve a piece of this.
02:45Pompeo's opinion on acting is something that may come as a surprise to fans of both her
02:49and the show that made her famous.
02:51Acting, to me, is boring, she says.
02:53An actor is the least powerful person on set, so I don't care about chasing roles.
02:58Plus, at my age, it's pretty unrealistic. Not that I can't do a cool cable thing, but I'm not going to have
03:03this whole second life as a movie star. I'm not fucking Julia Roberts.
03:07In the interview with Rose, Pompeo also speaks about the Time's Up movement and reveals that
03:12hearing so many horrifying stories from Oscar-winning actresses about being sexually harassed
03:17and assaulted has confirmed that her path was, in fact, the right one for her.
03:22I've chosen to financially empower myself so that I never have to be ducking predators and chasing trophies,
03:27she muses. It's not for everyone. You have to be more interested in business than you are in acting.
03:32And in case you were wondering, yes, she has met with Harvey Weinstein and it was in his hotel room.
03:38Says Pompeo,
03:39She adds,
04:00To read Lacey Rose's full interview with Ellen Pompeo, head to THR.com and check out the latest
04:12issue of The Hollywood Reporter.
04:14For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.
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