Returning Grey’s Anatomy Star Finally Explains Series Exit After 17 Years

Season 21 of Grey's Anatomy sees the return of Dr. Sydney Heron, portrayed in the earlier years of the series by Kali Rocha. After fading away without explanation in Season 4, Heron is back in the new season, marking an absence from the series of nearly two decades.

Per Tell-Tale TV, Rocha has finally addressed her exit from the series 17 years later. Her unceremonious departure and lengthy absence was not due to any bad blood between herself and the Grey's Anatomy team, as Rocha explained. She shared how her run on the show consisted of continuous calls back to go someplace new with her character, but that ended when one attempt to bring her back couldn't happen because of her pregnancy at the time. From there, Rocha's career took her further away from Grey's Anatomy, and she'd mostly forgotten about it until she was recently called upon once again to make a return to the show.

“It was a long time ago that I first went on the show, and then very sweetly, they kept bringing me back in different incarnations as Sydney, but in different jobs," Rocha said. "And then it just sort of went away with no real explanation. I think they tried to call once, but I was very heavily pregnant, so it wouldn’t have worked, I think, in the storyline. Then I just sort of forgot about it."

She added, "It never occurred to me that I would get that phone call 17 seasons later saying, ‘Hey, we want to bring you back.'”

Of course, a lot can happen over the course of 17 years. Rocha opened up on the changes she had observed since returning to the series for Season 21. While she appreciated how diverse the show was at the start, Rocha still found herself impressed by how it's only gotten much more so in subsequent years. She is also happy that former writer's assistant Meg Marinis is now serving as the series showrunner.

"It was just so crazy and so interesting to mark the changes, not just with the cast, but with the entire set crew and production team, because so long ago, the world of Hollywood was a different place," she said. "And Shonda [Rhimes] was such a pioneer in having a really diverse set, and having a really diverse cast, and making sure that all voices were represented. But even that felt new and improved when I got on set [this time], because it was so diverse — so much more representative than when I was working on it before.”

Rocha continued, "I definitely noticed that, and I think that comes from the head down. Meg [Marinis] is now obviously the showrunner, and she’s just amazing and very inclusive. And I think that was very important to her. And Ellen — I had heard that Ellen Pompeo had a big hand in that, so that was really cool."

Kali Rocha Had No Trouble Slipping Back Into Character

Some actors may have difficulty when it comes to revisiting a role they'd last played nearly two decades prior. That wasn't so much a challenge for Rocha, who was surprised by how easy it was for her to slip back into that role. Rocha also credited the show's cast for helping the Heron character find her place in Season 21.

“I don’t know exactly why, but it took nothing to go back and remember her needs, her motivations, her insecurities, her ambitions, and her flaws and foibles. It just really came back very quickly. I mean, I think the writers knew my character very well, but I have to say, I also knew my character very well. And I was surprised by that, because it has been so long, but it was not hard to step back into it,”

Chandra Wilson as Bailey talks with Kali Rocha as Sydney at the nurse's station on Grey's Anatomy

Dr. Heron speaking to the families of the ferry crash victims

Sydney Heron talking to Alex Karev in the cafeteria on Grey's Anatomy

Sydney Heron smiling

Chandra Wilson as Bailey talks with Kali Rocha as Sydney at the nurse's station on Grey's Anatomy

Dr. Heron speaking to the families of the ferry crash victims

Sydney Heron talking to Alex Karev in the cafeteria on Grey's Anatomy

Sydney Heron smiling

Close

Chandra Wilson as Bailey talks with Kali Rocha as Sydney at the nurse's station on Grey's Anatomy

Dr. Heron speaking to the families of the ferry crash victims

Sydney Heron talking to Alex Karev in the cafeteria on Grey's Anatomy

Sydney Heron smiling

Chandra Wilson as Bailey talks with Kali Rocha as Sydney at the nurse's station on Grey's Anatomy

Dr. Heron speaking to the families of the ferry crash victims

Sydney Heron talking to Alex Karev in the cafeteria on Grey's Anatomy

Sydney Heron smiling

Close

Chandra Wilson as Bailey talks with Kali Rocha as Sydney at the nurse's station on Grey's Anatomy

Dr. Heron speaking to the families of the ferry crash victims

Sydney Heron talking to Alex Karev in the cafeteria on Grey's Anatomy

Sydney Heron smiling

Chandra Wilson as Bailey talks with Kali Rocha as Sydney at the nurse's station on Grey's Anatomy

Dr. Heron speaking to the families of the ferry crash victims

Sydney Heron talking to Alex Karev in the cafeteria on Grey's Anatomy

Sydney Heron smiling

Close

She continued, “And in terms of the dynamics in the cast and in each scene, again, it was so well written that it was just plopped back into the same dynamic and the same sort of sweet, well-meaning, passive-aggressive neediness that is Sydney Heron. Especially in the relationship with Bailey, they really set that up nicely. That was beautifully poised and has a nice arc to it.”

Grey's Anatomy airs on Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.

Source: Tell-Tale TV

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