It’s no secret that Shonda Rhimes has made a monopoly when it comes to television. How many other creators can say they have an entire evening of shows that they created on ABC? It helps that Shonda Rhimes, or Shondaland, as her production company is called, has made so many shows. Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Private Practice, The Catch, and now Station 19 are all Shondaland programs that have aired at some point. While some have done better than others, it’s still incredibly impressive in the world of Hollywood, and a tribute to how talented Rhimes is!
When you make so many shows, you’re going to find a good group of actors. People that you like to work with and that will get along well with you. Maybe that’s why Shonda loves to reuse actors! We’re not judging! That’s the best way to do something, especially if they’re great actors like everyone is on Shondaland shows. Just for fun, we decided to pick out our favorites.
Here are 16 Actors You Didn’t Know Were on Multiple Shondaland Shows
16. Jeff Perry - Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal
It’s likely that if you’re a Shondaland watcher, you recognize Thatcher Grey, played by Jeff Perry. Thatcher was Meredith and Lexie’s father, though they both had different experiences with him. While Lexie had a generally good father/daughter experience, Meredith didn’t really have a father at all. Most of Perry’s role on Grey’s Anatomy was Thatcher disappointing Meredith. Even at their best moments, nothing seemed to flow exactly right.
Fast forward to 2012 when Scandal premiered. Many Grey’s Anatomy fans took a second to get used to seeing Jeff Perry as the smart, conniving Chief of Staff to the President, rather than a bumbling father. It’s safe to say that Thatcher and Cyrus Beene have absolutely nothing in common. As we’ve seen, it’s hard to say that Cyrus has much of a caring bone in his body, whereas at least Thatcher tried sometimes.
15. Scott Foley - Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal
Scott Foley played Henry Burton, AKA Teddy’s husband, in Grey’s Anatomy. Foley did a great job at making the audience believe the odd situation of two people getting married first and falling in love second. Henry needed medical insurance, and in a rush of wanting to do something good, Teddy decided that they should get married so that he could have access to hers. It was a crazy situation, but within a couple episodes, everyone loved these two together.
Of course, Henry had to passy away (since we all loved them so much and Shonda loves to break our hearts) but showed up a little while later in Scandal as Jake Ballard. He played a B613 agent sent to spy on Olivia by Fitzgerald Grant, the President at the time. Foley did an amazing job again at making us love a couple that met under interesting circumstances.
14. Sarah Drew - Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy
Sarah Drew is best known for playing Grey’s Anatomy character April Kepner, a character who originally was disliked because she came from Mercy West in the merger. She was originally fired from SGMW when a patient under her watch passed. but she re-hired when Derek Shephard became Chief. She still was a minor character, focusing mostly on her religion and still waiting until marriage in her late twenties. Eventually, her character grew as she was given plotlines that showed different parts and letting her grow.
In Private Practice, Sarah Drew played a college girl, Judy, who had gotten pregnant and mentioned that she was having trouble making ends meet and was thinking about adoption. She found a couple, which helped out immensely. However, when the baby was born with a hernia, there was a question about whether they’d actually adopt the baby.
13. Kate Burton - Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal
Anyone remember Ellis Grey from Grey’s Anatomy played by Kate Burton? She was also on Scandal! In Grey’s, she was a legendary surgeon who ended up having early onset Alzheimer’s. Since she didn’t want anyone to know, it left a huge burden on Meredith. Even after her death, she’s still made appearances ons the show in flashbacks and one particular “what if” episode.
When she wasn’t making the appearances on Grey’s, Burton was playing Sally Langston, female vice president to Fitzgerald Grant III on Scandal. The incredibly conservative Vice President had her share of issues throughout the show, including terminating her gay husband! After that evil deed was done, and after she moved to run for President and lost, Langston decided to go into television.
12. T.R. Knight
T.R. Knight needs no introduction. He played George, the intern Grey’s Anatomy fans love and cry over. George was one of the “original five”, meaning one of the original five interns of Bailey’s on Grey’s Anatomy. He had amazing moments in his intern year, including heart surgery in an elevator, but he didn’t pass his intern exam. He eventually retook it and became a resident. Owen convinced George that the military might be a good fit for him, but he lost his life saving someone from getting hit by a bus.
On a lesser-known Shondaland show, The Catch, TR Knight plays the brother to Alice Vaughan, the main character. Literally, there couldn’t be a character as different from George than Tommy. It turns out that when Tommy comes looking for help, he’s actually tricking everyone so he can get access to money before leaving with a new identity. Maybe he should ask: What Would George Do?
11. Paul Adelstein - Private Practice and Scandal
Anyone will recognize Scandal’s Leo Bergen, played by Paul Adelstein. Besides Olivia, he was the best person to get to run a campaign in season three of Scandal. When he tries to get Sally Langston elected as an Independent and fails, he leaves. He comes back, working on the campaign of Abby’s abusive ex, and fails again. Eventually, he and Abby begin a relationship, despite Abby working in the West Wing.
Shockingly, Adelstein plays a much different character in Shonda Rhimes’ show Private Practice. The show is about a small practice where the doctors work together, and Adelstein plays none other than the pediatrician! Great with kids and the heart of the practice, Adelstein plays Cooper and stayed with the show in its entirety. While these two characters are completely different, both are played by the very best.
10. Sonya Walger - Scandal and The Catch
Sonya Walger had a large role in The Catch, as part of the group of three hackers working for an unnamed person. Sonya Walger, who plays Margot, is in charge of the small sub-group of three, while the two men consistently go out and use their looks and charm to steal an identity and get to know someone that will profit them. Margot and the people that she’s with are always on the move, ready for the next con or scam, even if it’s dangerous.
Walger also played Katherine Winslow on Scandal; an old friend of Olivia Pope and Abby Whelan’s from law school. Katherine comes to Olivia when she finds out that her daughter ran away, but Huck finds out she slept with her daughter’s boyfriend and taped it. When we find out that her daughter has been taken out, Walger is the obvious person for motive. She’s arrested at the end of the episode.
9. Bellamy Young - Private Practice and Scandal
Bellamy Young plays Mellie Grant and if you watch Scandal, of course, you know who Mellie Grant is. She’s the ex-wife of Fitzgerald Grant III, and currently President in the series. The best thing about Mellie is that she cared about Fitz, to a point, and then decided she wasn’t going to continue the “First Lady” role. She’s an incredibly strong character and has been since the beginning, and that’s definitely a credit to Young’s acting.
Young was also on Private Practice as Kathy, another woman who is having issues with her husband. Since her husband won’t have relations with her and hadn’t in 18 months, she turned to exercise, leading to injuries. She ended up cheating on her husband but turned to the practice’s therapist Violet for help.
8. Liza Weil - Grey’s Anatomy and How to get Away with Murder
Liza Weil biggest Shondaland role is in How to Get Away with Murder, where she plays Bonnie, the assistant to Annalise. She works day and night to get anyything done that Annalise might need for a case. She started by being in one of the Keating 4, the group that works harder with Annalise, and eventually stayed on. She’s had a hard background because of her family and being ill-treated by her father, and that makes her timid. But she’s loyal, almost to a fault, to Annalise.
Before she was Bonnie, she was a friend of Izzie’s on Grey’s Anatomy. Allison was also undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Izzie talked to Allison about whether or not to go with a risky surgery that will help her. Allison ends up collapsing. The doctors lated used Allison as an example of why a different surgery is a good idea for Izzie since Allison got an extra two years, however, Allison never finished the surgery.
7. Darby Stanchfield - Private Practice and Scandal
Darby Stanchfield is known on Scandal as Abby Whelan, who started off as best friends with Olivia Pope, but now they definitely don’t seen eye to eye. After standing up for herself, Abby left Pope & Associates to go work at the White House and worked her way up from Press Secretary to Chief of Staff to Fitzgerald Grant. However, she rejoined QPA (Quinn Perkins & Associates) after the presidency changed.
Stanchfield has also guest starred on Private Practice’s season two episode as Tess Milford. She played a religious woman who felt that she had interfered with God’s will by trying to have children with IVF. She ended up with triplets, but the story ended up complicated when she and the babies went into distress at the airport.
6. Joshua Malina - Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal
Joshua Malina continues the Grey’s and Scandal trend by playing David Rosen, who is the Attorney General of the United States. He was always struggling with the way Olivia Pope dealt with crime and justice, but eventually, the two became friends and he also started a relationship with Abby.
People who have a keen eye will also recognize Malina as the husband of a patient on Grey’s Anatomy. Remember the woman who was sure she was sick so she took antibiotics off the internet, killing all the good and bad bacteria? Now she needed a transplant from her husband? Malina played the husband who would note help her out until she admitted the staph infection she got the medications for was really a pimple.
5. Debra Mooney
Debra Mooney has been on Grey’s Anatomy for multiple seasons, playing Evelyn Hunt, the mother of Owen and Megan Hunt. She was in the military, and both her children followed her lead and went into the military as well. She came into Grey Sloan complaining of dizziness and falling and was rushed into surgery for a ruptured aorta. This is when Owen finds out that his mother his meeting a much younger man. He doesn’t believe the feelings at first, but eventually, he accepts it.
In Private Practice, Mooney plays Sylvie, her fiancée who had been falling asleep during daily activities. She was worried it was something she’d done, but it ended up being his sciatica causing him to get painless migraines during bedroom time, causing him to pass out. It’s safe to say it wasn’t Sylvie’s fault at all!
4. Katie Lowes
Katie Lowes is best known for playing the hardheaded, stubborn, and awesome Quinn Perkins. When Scandal started, Perkins was originally timid and almost scared of Olivia Pope. However, as the show went on, she found her voice and her place OPA, even when she was the only one a part of it. In the middle it all, she veered off for a couple episodes and did a stint with the infamous B613. Eventually, she came back to OPA and renamed it Quinn Perkins & Associates.
In Private Practice, Lowes played a character with a truly heartbreaking background. Kendra lost her son when her husband had to take him to daycare but forgot. They both wanted to have another child, but since Kendra had lupus, they needed a surrogate, but the surrogate needed an operation. Addison eventually agreed.
3. Jerrika Hinton
Jerrika Hinton is best known in Shondaland for playing the impressive intern on Grey’s, Stephanie Edwards. From the beginning, Stephanie was the one to beat, showing promise in almost everything. Cristina highlighted her abilities, she worked with Meredith on her portal vein trial, and she helped Amelia with Dr. Herman’s brain tumor. Stephanie always had issues with Jo Wilson, because Stephanie always came out on top.
In Scandal, Hinton appeared as a doctor who tests assault kits. When Harrison tried to flirt his way to getting the kit, Hinton’s character is completely unfazed. She tells him that if he wants the kit, he should just ask for it, and even says that he’s not a lawyer or a cop. She tells him about how many kits she has to process in a day, and says she would hand it over it helped get someone justice.
2. Dan Bucatinsky - Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal
Dan Bucatinsky has had influential roles in both Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal. However, on Grey’s, it was more behind the scenes. He produced 36 episodes of Grey’s. He also played someone who came in with his boyfriend, who turned out to have cancer.
In Scandal, his role is much more prominent on screen. He plays Jason, Cyrus Beene’s boyfriend/husband, and for awhile, everything is okay between the two. They had their arguments – most of them being about how to keep work at work for Cyrus’s benefit.
Eventually, when Jason gets his eye on a potential story that could ruin the rigging of the Grant election, they end up fighting too often. When Jason gets shot, Cyrus doesn’t know how to go on.
1. Jay Hayden
Jay Hayden is part of Shondaland’s newest show, Station 19, a spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy. He plays Travis Montgomery, part of the main cast. Hayden plays a firefighter and the heart of the fire station. Only four episodes have aired as part of season one so far, but Hayden plays the character we all will most likely fall for.
In The Catch, Hayden played Danny, a private investigator who is part of the AVI team. Danny is always around to help distract to get others the information that they need.
According to Hayden, his humor and sarcasm were written into the character after the pilot. He’s a little more behind the scenes than others in the group, but like Travis, Danny is the good-hearted role, ready to help out when needed.
Did we miss any other Shondaland actors with multiple roles? Let us know in the comments.
