Chyler Leigh’s biggest regret over her return to Grey’s Anatomy is missing the chance to film in person with tragic Eric Dane.
Chyler Leigh’s biggest regret over her return to Grey’s Anatomy is missing the chance to film in person with tragic Eric Dane
The 44-year-old actress, who played Dr Lexie Grey in the long-running medical drama, reflected on her return to the series during an interview with TV Insider shared on Instagram, which saw her revisit the emotional dream-sequence storyline from season 17, which aired in 2020 and saw Lexie reunited with Dr Mark Sloan, played by Eric.
Her comments come months after the death of Eric, who died at the age of 52 following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS.)
Chyler said: “One thing that I’m really bummed about… was that when Lexie comes back… we were filming during COVID, actual COVID, and I was filming Supergirl in Vancouver.”
She added: “I couldn’t go down to be there because I would have had to quarantine two weeks coming back into Vancouver, and we did not have the time for that.”
Because of pandemic restrictions, Chyler filmed her scenes remotely using green-screen technology, while Eric shot his portions separately.
Reflecting on the experience, Chyler said: “If there’s anything that I regret, it would be not having been able to do that (scene) with Dane (in person.)”
Chyler and Eric’s characters remain among the most popular couples in Grey’s Anatomy history, with fans continuing to celebrate the relationship between Lexie and Mark more than a decade after their characters were written out following the devastating plane crash storyline.
The actress is also widely known for portraying Alex Danvers in Supergirl, while Eric earned acclaim not only for Grey’s Anatomy but also for his later role as Cal Jacobs in HBO drama Euphoria.
Lexie and Mark’s relationship became one of the defining romances of Grey’s Anatomy.
Their story ended tragically when both characters were involved in the season eight plane crash, with Lexie dying at the scene and Mark later succumbing to his injuries.
Despite her disappointment about their final reunion, Chyler recalled several positive memories from working alongside Eric during the show’s most successful years.
She added: “There’s one scene where Lexie is kind of choosing between Jackson and Mark, and he comes in, and he just gives her this moment where you see Jackson in the background, and she really does have to choose.”
Chyler also said: “I don’t know what it is about kissing, but it was a really deep moment. And you just kind of see the sparkle leave her eyes, you know? That was so up and down.”
Speaking about Eric more broadly, she said: “I could pick a million memories. He was a wonderful human being.”
Following Eric’s death, Chyler paid tribute in a statement to E! News.
She said: “The last 48 hours have been devastating.”
Chyler added: “I never thought I would be using the term ‘had or was,’ but here we are. And I hate it.”
She continued: “Eric had a heart of gold. His humor and, especially, his laugh was infectious.”
Chyler also described him as “an amazing father” and said he “loved his girls FIERCELY”.
Last month, speaking on the You Might Know Her podcast, Chyler admitted she struggled to process the news of Eric’s death.
She said: “All of a sudden, it just hit.”
Chyler added: “I had to keep getting up and going to use the lavatory because I was just sobbing.”
She continued: “I didn’t know it was going to hit me that hard and especially that fast.”
Reflecting on the passage of time since his death, Chyler said she is now able to revisit memories of Eric’s work and focus on “those incredible moments that we had together”.
