Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty; Anne Marie Fox/Disney via Getty Grey's Anatomystar Jason George revealed how the show's cast reacted when Denzel Washington directed an episode The Oscar winner directed a season 12 episode called "The Sound of Silence," which aired in 2016 George described having the Hollywood legend working on set as an "incredible" experience Jason Georgeis revealing theGrey's Anatomycast's surprising reaction to having a Hollywood heavyweight in the director's chair. Oscar winnerDenzel Washingtondirected a season 12 episode of the long-running medical drama, titled "The Sound of Silence," which aired in 2016. George — who has played Ben Warren on the show since season 6 (and also on thesince-canceled spinoffStation 19) — recalled to theNew York Posthow the show's stars stepped up their game when working with the industry legend. "It was an incredible episode that everybody was on their best [behavior] for," the 53-year-old actor said. "Everyone shows up professionally anyway, but when Denzel's directing your episode, everyone came [correct]." George joked about how the female stars put extra care into their outfits, even with a 5 a.m. call time. "I was like, 'Y'all don't dress up for us on the regular, ' " he recalled. Tina Thorpe/Disney While George said it was a thrill to have Washington, 70, direct an episode, he would love to see him don a pair of scrubs and get in front of the camera one day. "It's never going to happen, but you've got to put it out there," he told thePost. "I'm hoping he does it." The PEOPLE Appis now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! And George already has a particular part in mind for theTraining Daystar. "It's Denzel. He's got to come in as the doctor who isthatdude, and everyone's geeked out and excited about him. He's got to come in as the expert," he said. Series veteranEllen Pompeo— who plays Dr. Meredith Grey — previously revealed thatshe and Washington clashedon the set during his stint as director. She recounted their argument during a 2021 episode of her podcast,Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo, beginning by teasing, "He went nuts on me — this is a good Denzel story." Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Pompeo, 55, said she was shooting an emotional scene in which an epileptic patient apologized after unintentionally injuring her and breaking her jaw during a seizure. She decided to go off-script by improvising Meredith's response to the apology and giving her scene partner some pointers. Nicole Wilder/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty But Washington wasn't happy about it. "Denzel went ham on my a--," Pompeo recalled. "He was like, 'I'm the director. Don't you tell him what to do.' " "And I was like, 'Listen, motherf-----, this is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling?' Like, 'You barely know where the bathroom is,' " she continued. "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." Pompeo said that at one point, Washington's wifePauletta— who is a longtime fan of the show — stopped by the set, and the actress told her about the little spat with her husband. "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,' " she shared on the podcast. "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." Despite her heated exchange with Washington, Pompeo said that, ultimately, having the Hollywood icon take a turn as director was "an amazing experience — it really was." Read the original article onPeople
