Grey's Anatomy star reveals truth about iconic scene between Meredith and Derek

Ellen Pompeo has given her taken on an iconic scene between her character Meredith and Dr Derek (Patrick Dempsey). Photo / Supplied

Grey's Anatomy's leading lady has revealed what she really thought about one of the show's most memorable scenes.

The smash hit medical drama, which has been running for 16 seasons since 2005, is a money-making machine for the parent company Disney, as one of the longest-running scripted shows to ever air on TV.

And one of its central stars, Ellen Pompeo – who plays Meredith Grey – gets a big bite of that cherry, earning a reported US$575,000 ($950,000) per episode, along with an additional seven-figure signing bonus and two full back end equity points, estimated to bring in another $6 to $7 million.

But that doesn't mean she necessarily agrees with all the storylines, news.com.au reports.

Speaking about her career prior to Grey's, Pompeo told Variety she accepted the role of Meredith because she felt it had more substance than other roles she'd been offered.

"I did recognise that the film roles that I was being offered were all the girlfriends and sort of just the chick in the movie with not a lot to do," she said.

"And (when) I read the pilot, I did recognise, 'Wow, this is a female lead – with a career'. I wasn't seeing many of those parts, so I did recognise that."

But one particular iconic scene from the series had her questioning what she thought of the role, which sees her character beg Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) to leave his wife for her in episode five of season two.

"Her journey to becoming powerful was not really so obvious to me," she said.

"I have a different perspective, and maybe people see the beginning of the show as more empowering than I did.

"But that, 'Pick me, choose me, love me' (line), I was like, 'Why am I begging a man to love me?' To me, that's not empowering."

Grey's Anatomy is currently in its 16th season, which has been stalled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has also been renewed for a 17th season.