The suave, golden-haired Scottish actor from the memorable HBO "Rome" series has been imported to boost the sagging fortunes of the once-mighty ABC medical drama.
McKidd, 35, plays Owen Hunt, an Iraqi War medic who becomes the new head of trauma surgery at Seattle Grace. His arrival, just as "Grey's" tumbles in the ratings against a reinvigorated "CSI," is well-timed. The other male characters on the show - McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey), McSteamy (Eric Dane) and McDopey (T.R. Knight) - have run out of gas. McKidd has to fill the mature masculine slot left vacant when Isaiah Washington was fired from the series.
On "Grey's," McKidd will play a pivotal role as Hunt brings unorthodox teaching methods to the hospital, spars with McDreamy and McSteamy and romances Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) while teaching her a valuable lesson.
"Hunt will make her address and refocus her career. Her ambition is about pure vanity," McKidd says. "My character has seen more trauma in Iraq than a civilian surgeon would see in a year. He doesn't go in for chitter-chatter or for people becoming attached to each other."
He has signed to do the show through December. "If we feel the story has juice, they'll keep me on," he says. "Things are going to progress with Cristina and I think it's going to get intense and complicated. She and Owen are soul mates."
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