The latest class of interns at Grey Sloan Memorial is tasked with ushering in a new era for the hospital, and for “Grey’s Anatomy,” which is signaling a major shift after 19 seasons as it looks toward a potential future without Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo).
Harry Shum Jr is one of those interns. He plays Benson “Blue” Kwan, a sharp-witted, impatient and brilliant first-year surgical resident at Grey-Sloan. Kwan is described as generous by nature, competitive to a fault, naturally gifted and used to winning at everything. A family crisis interfered with his career plans, and now he’s got a lot to prove.
We’ve already seen how Blue intends to get to the top, and it didn’t exactly leave a glowing impression, considering he lied to a grieving patient about having a deceased brother.
“As we as we move further into the storyline, we’ll figure out things that triggered that and then the way he responds to things, specifically in social settings, might show signs of him being inadequate in certain areas of his life,” the actor told TheWrap.
Below, Shum Jr. breaks down more about his character, ushering in a new era for “Grey’s,” and what to expect from Thursday night’s episode, which airs on ABC at 9 ET/PT.
We only get a small glimpse of who Blue is in the first episode. What can we expect to learn about him as the season progresses?
No one knows anything about Blue. That’s the draw. [Laughs]. No, I mean, he’s competitive, which I think might be a mechanism of things that he has failed at. As we as we move further into the storyline, we’ll figure out things that triggered that and then the way he responds to things, specifically in social settings, might show signs of him being inadequate in certain areas of his life. What I really liked about the pilot is the mystery behind him and not really knowing which way you want to feel about him, which is, I think, the fun part about taking on this role.
How far are you in to shooting the season and how much do you know about how things will play out?
We are deep into Episode 7 now. Okay. We’ve gotten [scripts] like, a week before. We’re shooting different episodes, kind of at the same time, which honestly has been nice because you get to find that puzzle piece. You’re like, ‘Oh, I know where this goes.’ And then you find that other one and you’re like, ‘Okay, I can put these together.’ That’s what the feeling is like particularly for me, being a new cast member.
The interns are already starting to form a special bond. Have you, as actors, also started to form that bond on set?
They premiered the pilot during our lunch [one day], and it was just the whole crew. Everyone on the cast showed up and we’re outside in this big tent and it was really neat to see that for something that’s been going on for 19 seasons, because you would think that everyone’s just bored, but everyone had this new excitement. As far as the new interns go, we huddled up and just reassured each other that this feeling that we have is one we have to keep going throughout the rest of the season. I don’t see that stopping because they’re all just good people and great talents. They just make me laugh every single day. I think it’s going to be able to translate on screen.
‘Grey’s’ feels like an institution at this point, and the new actors are really carrying a large part of the story this season. Was it nerve wracking to be brought in to sort of usher in a new era of this series?
It was, because coming in, you don’t know how to act. You’re seeing this train moving but it did make stops and then we are allowed to get on and get a whole tutorial of how things work. The rest of the cast members have been there a long time, and they all just have their own different perspectives. I think it’s one of the most beautiful things because you’re getting a 360 view of how everyone else [operates]. Coming in this late in the game, I think the intimidation will always be there but it’s really been a collaborative effort. We’ve really been really welcomed into the team.
Did you receive any words of wisdom from any of the seasoned cast members?
I think that the biggest thing that I’ve learned is this chosen family element. Sometimes we see each other more than we see our families. And I think in this particular show, why it has gone on for so long, is because this place is like a sanctuary. We have fun, but everyone is punctual. Everyone is just being themselves. Everyone respects each other. It’s never, at least in my time being there, felt like anyone was trying to only think about themselves. It’s just like as long as we support each other, we’re all going to rise together. And that’s what we’ve all inherited.
So what can we expect from Blue in Episode 1902?
This guy is trying to get intel on how to stay ahead of the game, and he definitely makes good use of it. I think that’s all I’ll say, because there’s a lot of secrets. But Blue is definitely going to use his skills as a detective to see if he can get into some more surgeries.
