James Pickens Jr. says there’s never a dull day at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital — even after 20 years.
As the actor, 70, walked the red carpet ahead of the Disney Upfront 2025 presentation in New York City on Tuesday, May 13, he spoke exclusively to PEOPLE and reflected on Grey’s Anatomy’s milestone 20th anniversary.
“I feel incredibly blessed and humbled,” he says of being a part of the hit medical drama since its premiere in 2005. “The majority of the actors who do this will never, never experience what I’ve experienced. I have a job for this long, something I’ve enjoyed coming to.”
“Every day is an adventure,” he adds. “And yeah, I feel incredibly lucky.”
While he says he doesn’t quite feel like “a real doctor” after donning scrubs and “performing” countless surgeries as Dr. Richard Webber across 21 seasons so far, he notes that the role has given him “great appreciation for the men and women who do it for real.”
“I make no bones about what they do, and I’m just extremely grateful that I get to play [a doctor] and that folks are engaged by it,” Pickens adds.
As for what comes next for Richard, the actor teases, “You know, I don’t know. We’ll see. I think there’s some interesting stuff ahead. We’ll reach out and then kind of hopefully craft some storylines that folks will continue to enjoy and be involved in.”
Pickens also reacted to longtime costar Ellen Pompeo’s remarks that leaving the show would “make no sense, emotionally or financially.”
“The show was streamed more than a billion times in 2024. More than a billion times. The companies that own the show and stream the show make a lot of money from our images and our voices and our faces,” the actress, who plays Dr. Meredith Grey, told El País last month. “If I were to walk away completely, everybody gets to make money from my hard work for 20 years and I wouldn’t make any money.”
Pickens’ response to Pompeo’s hot take? “I couldn’t agree with her more,” he tells PEOPLE with a laugh. “That’s a very good quote.”
In 2018, Pickens pondered a possible end to Grey’s Anatomy as he spoke about what it’s like to bid goodbye to longtime castmembers.
“It’s always emotional when someone leaves,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “They become more than costars, they become family. When you spend nine or 10 seasons with someone, that’s more than a costar.”
“You watch everyone grow,” he added. “In some cases, there are women who have had children during the run of the show and are now raising families.”
Addressing an eventual conclusion to the series, created by Shonda Rhimes, Pickens shared his hope that it would be organic and that the timing would feel just right.
“Listen, if it’s time, it’s time,” he said. “You don’t want to overdo it. I think it will run its natural course.”
Grey’s Anatomy wrapped its 21st season on Thursday, May 15, with a dramatic finale involving a hostage situation. ABC previously announced that the show had been renewed for a 22nd season, extending its record as the longest-running primetime medical drama and the network’s longest-running primetime scripted series.
