Grey's Anatomy alumni Katherine Heigl and Jeffrey Dean Morgan analyze their emotional scenes together on the show

It’s strange how a medical drama that started as a midseason filler could go on to define so much of what we expect from emotional storytelling on Television. But Grey’s Anatomy did exactly that.

Created by Shonda Rhimes, the show first aired in 2005, introducing to its viewers a handful of surgical interns who had no idea what was coming for them, or what they’d do to us. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) led the cast, and was joined by Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), and Izzie Stevens (played by a luminous Katherine Heigl).

Over time, Grey’s Anatomy became more than just a TV show. It was a weekly reminder that no one is safe, not even the people we love most. And no storyline captured this sentiment better than the brief, devastating romance between Izzie and Denny Duquette, played with great warmth by Katherine Heigl and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, respectively. Their arc, just a few episodes long in Season 2, still resonates in fan conversations today, nearly two decades later. So when Entertainment Weekly reunited Heigl and Morgan for reflecting on the 20th anniversary of the show, the heartbreak resurfaced, and not just for us, but for the actors too.

Morgan admitted he still couldn't bring himself to rewatch Denny’s death scene:

“It makes me cry. One, because it was so awesome, and two, it was f------ incredibly sad to watch,”

Heigl, who had to carry Izzie’s grief in that moment, remembers how deeply it rattled her:

“I remember that scene when Denny died, how stressed out I was to perform that and just wanting to give it my absolute best and really try not to chew the scenery…”

It was more than just acting. She turned inward, dug deep, and did everything she could to get it right, because anything less would’ve been dishonest.

A loss that rewrote the rules of grief on TV

As a patient, Denny wasn’t supposed to matter this much on the show. But somehow, he did. And when he died, just after a successful heart transplant, it hit harder than anyone expected. Izzie had risked her career for him, cutting the LVAD wire to move him up on the transplant list. It was reckless, terrifying, and, depending on who you ask, either unforgivable or painfully real. Heigl later admitted,

“What was hard was understanding her logic,”

because logic had nothing to do with it, not really. Love, fear, and loss don’t follow hospital protocol.

While revisiting those scenes, Morgan simply stated,

“It still wrecks me.”

Some moments stay close, even after years and countless roles. This was one of them.

Shonda’s gift for chaos that feels like truth

None of this would’ve landed if not for Shonda Rhimes. Long before Bridgerton or Scandal, she was already breaking TV rules in Grey’s Anatomy, writing characters who were brilliant, flawed, vulnerable, selfish, and unforgettable. Rhimes doesn’t write easy love stories. She writes the kind that come at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and still feel right. Izzie and Denny were never meant to last. But they mattered anyway. That’s what made them hurt.

After Grey’s Anatomy, Rhimes only soared higher. She gave us Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder, Olivia Pope in Scandal, and now, the ton in Bridgerton. Her characters might wear different clothes, but their emotional messiness? That never changes. And we love her for it.

That time when Denny comes back… as a ghost

And then there was Season 5, with he infamous “ghost sex” arc, when Denny returns in visions while Izzie battles cancer. Even fans who worshipped the couple raised an eyebrow. Morgan, looking back, laughed:

“I was a ghost. It was weird. I didn’t know what I was doing. But I was happy to be there.”

Heigl summed it up perfectly:

“Trippy.”

Maybe it didn’t make sense on paper. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to. Grief rarely does.

Two actors, two careers, and one chapter that never closed

After Grey’s Anatomy, both Heigl and Morgan carved out very different paths. Heigl became the face of late-2000s rom-coms, including Knocked Up, 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth. Later, she shifted to drama with Netflix’s Firefly Lane, showing she was more than charm and timing. Morgan, meanwhile, dove deep into darkness, embodying Negan on The Walking Dead, and proving he could terrify just as easily as he once consoled. He’s also had roles in Watchmen, The Good Wife, and more, but Denny never really left him.

And that’s the thing. When Heigl and Morgan talk about Grey’s Anatomy, there’s no distance. No cool detachment. Just warmth, a bit of pain, and that mutual understanding that some stories change you, not because of what happens on screen, but because of what they pull out of you as a person. That’s what this one did.

It wasn’t just acting. It was remembering what it feels like to lose someone before you’re ready, and knowing you’ll never be ready.