Kevin McKidd Opens Up About Departing Grey's Anatomy After 18 Years

Kevin McKidd is sharing his perspective on stepping away from Grey's Anatomy, the medical drama that has been central to his career since 2008.

The Scottish actor joined the series in season 5, taking on the role of Dr. Owen Hunt, and has remained a fixture of the main cast throughout his tenure. In a recent conversation with THR, McKidd addressed the circumstances surrounding his departure, clarifying that while showrunner Meg Marinis brought the decision to him, it wasn't something he had explicitly requested.

McKidd revealed that he had actually been contemplating his character's exit for quite some time. "I've been thinking about my character's exit for quite a few years," he explained. "I've been noodling it in my head and wondering how it should be."

The actor shared his original vision for Owen's sendoff, describing a heroic conclusion. "My concept for Owen's exit from the show was that I always imagined he would die in some heroic fashion. That he would save somebody or save a bunch of people and lose his life," McKidd said. He elaborated on this choice, noting that Owen's arc began with significant trauma. "Owen came into the show as this traumatized, kind of broken person. He was basically a broken man. He had lost all his platoon in Iraq, and carried that wound."

When Marinis presented her vision for the character's conclusion, McKidd found himself won over by a different direction. "She is such a brilliant showrunner. She felt that the story we tell is one of a new chapter, and of two people coming back together and turning the page and recommitting and reuniting and starting again and starting afresh," he shared. "The more Meg told me about this idea of how they were going to wrap the characters up, it made much more sense. And I'm really proud of it."

Pressed on whether he would have remained with the show if this opportunity hadn't emerged, McKidd was candid about his feelings. "I'd been kind of toying with the idea of [leaving]. I'd been feeling like it was time for me to leave over the last couple of years, and not quite knowing how to do that. Not knowing how to leave a place that's become my family," he said. "As an immigrant, this fresh British actor in America, this show, quite literally, has given me a home. So that's definitely hard to walk away from."

While McKidd is departing the cast, his connection to the show will continue. He is set to direct episode 2 of the upcoming season.