Star of 'Grey's Anatomy' Ellen Pompeo had some words to say when it came to Denzel Washington's episode on the medical drama.
The Academy award winner made his small screen directing debut on 'Grey's'. Pompeo dove into what went down between the two actors in a new episode of her podcast 'Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo'.
The episode saw special guest and former castmate Patrick Dempsey join the actress.
The two eventually got onto the subject of when Washington directed an episode of the show.
Ellen Pompeo described the actor as "amazing" but also detailed an argument where "he went nuts on [her]."
She says they were shooting a scene for an episode which sees her character Meredith Grey listen to an apology from a man who injured her and left her with a broken jaw.
Ellen Pompeo says she was so overcome with emotion that she improvised some dialogue, much to the annoyance of Denzel Washington.
"He made this choice to speak very softly. And [Meredith] was pissed that [she] had to sit there and listen to this apology, and he wasn't looking at [her] in the eye," Pompeo recalled. "Again, we love actors who make choices, right?
"And I yelled at him, and I was like, 'Look at me when you apologise. Look at me.' And that wasn't in the dialogue, and Denzel went ham on my ass."
She continued: "He was like, 'I'm the director. Don't you tell him what to do.' And I was like, 'Listen, motherf‑‑‑er, this is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling?' Like, 'You barely know where the bathroom is.'
"And I have the utmost respect for him as an actor, as a director, as everything, but like, yo, we went at it one day."
Ellen Pompeo ended up speaking with Washington's wife when she came to set.
"I was like, 'Yeah, he yelled at me today. Yeah, he let me have it today, and I'm not okay with him, and I'm not looking at him, and I'm not talking to him,'" Pompeo said. "So we didn't get through it without a fight, but you know, that's actors for you — passionate and fiery — and that's where you get the magic, and that's where you get the good stuff."
Ellen Pompeo concluded: "So it was an amazing experience, it really was."
Season 18 of 'Grey's Anatomy' premieres tonight (30 September) on ABC. The Irish broadcast date for the new season is TBC.
