Katherine Heigl talks Grey’s Anatomy, The Ugly Truth (Includes interview)

Katherine Heigl talks Grey’s Anatomy, The Ugly Truth Special

By Earl Dittman.

With two blockbuster films to her credit (Knocked Up and 27 Dresses) — and another one on the way (The Ugly Truth), Katherine Heigl is now a full-fledged movie star. Does this mean the TV star is really hanging up her Grey's Anatomy scrubs for good?

When she began to publicly question the quality of writing on Grey’s Anatomy, the network medical drama that put her on the Tinsel Town map, many of the tabloids began speculating that Katherine Heigl’s days at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital were numbered. And, when “Izzie,” her wild, ghost-loving character on the Top Ten television series, contracted a life-threatening illness this past season, it appeared as if Heigl’s fate had been sealed. So, what do you do with an unhappy, hit movie-making, award-winning actress with time still left on a lucrative contract? Do you work her to the point of exhaustion so that she’ll quit?

During a recent L.A. press conference with Gerard Butler (300, RocknRolla) — her hunky costar in the hysterical and gut-busting romantic comedy The Ugly Truth — when she is asked about the state of affairs on the Grey’s Anatomy set now that she’s returned, after a short break, Heigl starts up on an apparent tirade about the outrageous work conditions on the set. “I’m actually really mad at them right now,” Heigl laments. “They worked me on Wednesday for seventeen hours and I thought that was mean. Yep. That’s right. I think we should all boycott Grey’s Anatomy. I think we need to make a point. This can’t continue. Is that even legal? Are they allowed to do that?”

Sony

Gerard Butler + Katherine Heigl in The Ugly Truth.

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At this point, it must be noted that Heigl playfully ends her verbal fit with a smile and a few mocking giggles. It’s obvious to every one in attendance that Heigl isn’t serious about boycotting the show that made her a star. However, as she catches her breath, Butler (who is sitting right next to her) gently taps Heigl on the shoulder and tells her, “Don’t say that, it doesn’t work in print, remember? Do you know how many people are going to write this down now as a serious comment? I can read it now, ‘Katie Heigl said she thinks we should all boycott Grey’s Anatomy now.’”

Close, Gerry (his nickname) but no cigar (but thanks for the headline idea). As Butler’s words start to sink into her pretty head, Heigl quickly blurts out, “I was joooooking!” accompanying her declaration with several hearty laughs.

After she finishes laughing, Heigl confesses that she’s quite happy to be returning back for another season on Grey’s Anatomy and confesses that the short production hiatus went by in a flash. “It’s exciting to be back, because I’ve missed my friends and it was really fun to see everybody,” she confesses. “It’s such a strange thing. It’s been two months but it doesn’t feel like any time has past at all, because you’re right back in the same set, same wardrobe, and with the same people. It's like, ‘Maybe you haven’t seen each other for the weekend?’ That’s what it feels like. Aside from (pregnant) Ellen’s (Pompeo) growing belly, the last time I saw her it was just a tiny bump, and now she’s got a basketball and it’s weird. Other than that nothing has changed and it’s wonderful, except for T.R. (Knight).”

ABC

T.R. Knight + Katherine Heigl on Grey's Anatomy.

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For those who have been following the tabloid-fueled, behind-the-scenes drama on the Grey's Anatomy set, you may remember the openly-gay Knight decided to leave the series after former cast mate Isaiah Washington’s alleged homophobic slurs against T.R. were made public. “That was really actually very strange and really hard, because T.R. provided so much fun, joy, and levity for me and everyone else,” Heigl says of Knight’s absence upon her return. “We were all sitting there — I’m not supposed to talk about this. We had to do a scene about George’s death and Justin (Chambers) kept saying ‘I just keep imagining T.R. on Broadway singing while we’re mourning the character’s death.’ Then we all sort of went ‘Yeah, that’s hilarious. Oh, that’s really sad. He would be laughing really hard now too, and he’s not here to laugh with us.’ So it’s a little strange in that regard but other than that it’s good to be back with my friends and my family.”

Heigl also enjoyed making The Ugly Truth with Gerard Butler, especially getting to play the character of “Abby.” “What I loved about this movie is that Abby is really dorky,” says Heigl. “Her spazzy dance and all those things. But, I think that is what the guy, Mike (Butler), really kind of loved about her. She wasn’t the Jell-O twins. She wasn’t a perfect package of sex appeal. She did all the wrong things in a way, but they were charming. That was her, who she is, and that’s who Mike falls in love with, versus Eric’s (Winter) character. He just fell in love with the package.”

After portraying “Izzie” for several seasons on Grey’s Anatomy, Heigl says she's always trying to choose film characters that are completely opposite of Izzie. But, Heigl readily admits she’ll never find a character that doesn’t resemble her television alter-ego in some form or fashion. “I used to have this conversation with other actors,” she admits. “At the end of the day, I feel like because I'm on television it’s really hard to divorce me completely from the role of Izzie. It’s nine months a year, it’s every day, and sometimes it’s an eighty-hour week. It’s the way I walk, the way I talk, the way I dress. I can’t completely remove that. I thought that in the film I maybe could. I don’t think I can. Me is always going to show up in these roles, something is always going to surface.”