From patients, to love interests, to patients who double as love interests and stick around a long, long time (talking to you, Denny), talented guest stars contribute greatly to Grey's Anatomy. Here's a list of some of the transients who have Graced
our favorite Seattle Hospital. As this is a new feature of the Insider, it's still a work in progress. We're well aware of stars such as Chris O'Donnell (pictured) but if you have information about a recent or old guest star not included below, please leave a comment and let us know so we can update the list!
THE MAJOR PLAYERS:
Kate Burton as Dr. Ellis Grey. That's right, long before Meredith's anatomy was all the rage in the Emerald City, the elder Dr. Grey was a renowned surgeon and lover of Dr. Webber. She suffers from advanced Alzheimer's and barely recognizes her daughter.
Jeff Perry as Thatcher Grey. Meredith's dad left after finding out about Ellis' extramarital affair. Although Meredith did not speak to him for 20 years, during which time he remarried and two other daughters, he recently emerged and expressed a desire to get to know his eldest child.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Denny Duquette. A charming heart patient who falls in love with Izzie over games of scrabble and lots of medical jargon. He was a major factor in Izzie's breakup with Alex, while his relationship with young Dr. Stevens has drawn the ire of her supervisor, Dr. Bailey.
Steven W. Bailey as Joe the Bartender. Joe makes the occasional appearance as the owner of the Emerald City Bar, a nearby watering hole frequented by the doctors. The jolly and gay barkeep also had a brain tumor removed by Derek early in the season.
Sara Ramirez as Dr. Calli Torres. An orthopedic surgeon at SGH, she showed interest in George pretty much immediately after his one-night stand with Meredith blew up in his face. It took awhile for George to get over the incident with Meredith, but he has since begun dating her seriously. She lives in the hospital basement!
Chris O'Donnell as Dr. Finn Dandrige. The veterinarian Meredith meets when her dog, Doc, falls ill. Finn immediately shows interest in dating Dr. Grey but respects her supposed celibacy vow. He's quite the catch!
Sarah Utterback as Nurse Olivia. Not such a good catch, although the blah-looking nurse has scored with two of the male interns (George and Alex) while contracting at least one STD in the process, in case you're keeping score.
WE HARDLY KNEW YOU...
Eric Dane as Dr. Mark Sloan. A plastic surgeon better known as "McSteamy," Mark used to be Derek's best friend. That was before he slept with Addison and Derek walked in. Not cool. In any case, he visited Seattle from N.Y. City in an effort to win Addison back, and performed an operation while there. He also hit on Meredith and was punched out by Derek.
Natalie Cole as Sylvia Booker. A patient admitted to SGH with a brain aneurism and treated by Derek. It was an unforgettable performance. Sorry, but you knew we were gonna go there.
Christina Ricci as Hannah Davies. During the two-part post-Super Bowl Code Black fiasco, Hannah was the paramedic whose hand was inside the patient, keeping the live ammunition from exploding and killing many. She's cute.
Kyle Chandler as Dylan Young. Also known as Bomb Squad Guy. A no-nonsense expert on explosives, he talked our girl Meredith through the process of removing the shell from the patient, only to perish when it went off in his hands in the hallway. Rest in peace, Kyle... er, Dylan.
Mare Winningham as Susan Grey. Thatcher's second wife, which makes her Meredith's stepmother, if you want to look at it that way. It's a weird situation.
Mandy Siegfried as Molly (Grey) Thompson. Thatcher's daughter with Susan and Meredith's half-sister, who Meredith meets when she is admitted to SGH with pregnancy complications.