Ellen Pompeo shares an emotional Grey’s Anatomy fan story, proving how inspiring the show can be

Ellen Pompeo reveals how a fan-turned-actor of Grey’s Anatomy expressed the meaningful impact the show’s had on his life.

To Grey‘s Anatomy fans, Ellen Pompeo may seem synonymous to Meredith Grey. While Meredith is saving lives at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, Pompeo recently shared how the show and its cast can truly impact and influence people’s lives.

On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Pompeo discussed what it’s been like to be a part of the historic medical drama for 15 seasons. Though ABC has yet to officially order the sixteenth season, Pompeo has already signed on to be a part of it, saying “there’s just no end in sight” for the show.

Pompeo also expressed how much she enjoys opportunities like visiting DeGeneres, as it gives her an opportunity to thank fans for their support of the show.

“Everywhere I go, whether it’s Italy, whether it’s France, London, Kansas, the people that come up to me with tears in their eyes and tell me how meaningful the show is to them,” Pompeo told DeGeneres.

One story in particular though got the Grey‘s Anatomy actress choked up, and once you listen to it, you may feel yourself tearing up too.

Pompeo shared that when she directed her first episode for Grey‘s Anatomy, there was a young gay actor who played a gay actor for that story. When shooting was complete, Pompeo says the teen actor approached her to express how Grey’s Anatomy had impacted his life and even helped him come out to his parents.

Pompeo recalled:

"A teenager was in the show and he was gay, and he played a gay character. After we’d filmed the whole entire episode, he said to me, ‘My whole life, I’ve watched this show with my parents, and I sort of used the show as a way to tell my parents that I was gay — and to show my parents that it’s OK, that I’m not different, there’s nothing wrong with me. Grey’s really helped my parents to understand what having a gay son meant, and that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.'”"

Pompeo, notably emotional, recalled how the actor told her that for him to get a part on this show, and for his parents to see that, he said to her “it’s just been everything.”

With that, the actress expressed how important it is for her to stick around for a season 16, and perhaps even longer.

“I got to keep doing it, man, because we’re touching lives and making a difference,” Pompeo told DeGeneres.

Watch the full interview here. 

Ellen Pompeo recently told Entertainment Weekly that she may not be around after season 16, saying “I am really feeling like we have told the majority of the stories we can tell.”

If this interview with DeGeneres is any indication, it looks like Ellen Pompeo and Meredith Grey will stick around a while longer to help and inspire others.