Since the moment Kevin McKidd walked onto Grey's Anatomy, his swashbuckling Iraq-war medic Dr. Owen Hunt has had us swooning for him almost as much as Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) was. Their star-crossed, post-traumatic-stress-disorder-impaired love affair has kept the show afloat even as it drifted through sex-with-ghosts storylines and a barrage of ill-advised guest stars. And now, as the drama suddenly rights its course heading into the final stretch of season 5, things will get even more complicated for Seattle Grace's hottest new couple. The Scottish actor (last seen on Journeyman) talked to us about Cristina and Owen's tough times ahead -- and what's to come (SPOILER ALERT!!) in the season's remaining bombshell-laden (weddings, therapy, brain surgery, etc.) weeks.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So this week features some pretty serious developments between Cristina and Owen.
KEVIN McKIDD: It's scary, what happens. Basically it's a night terror. He's unconscious and asleep and he starts to hurt Cristina. That’s his rock-bottom moment. So he starts to reach out for help. He starts to go into therapy and reach out to people like Derek Shepherd [Patrick Dempsey] to solve this thing. Derek at some point says, Look, this is treatable. With the proper treatment and therapy, you’re not trapped. I think that’s so important to talk about, with so many vets now. There’s such a stigma attached to admitting to something like that, and I think it’s important to discuss it in such a high-profile way.How did you feel when you first took this role, knowing you'd be dealing with such a touchy issue?
We’ve worked on making sure this isn’t sort-of a fluffy representation of somebody who has this problem. He’s a good guy. He’s just deeply damaged right now. [When I started on the show], we knew he was a great trauma surgeon, and we knew he was going to get involved with Cristina. We didn’t know how much we were going to deal with the aftermath of being in the Iraq War situation. It was going to be more romantic then. But we realized pretty quickly that there was a lot there. It’s a really interesting opportunity for acting moments, and to follow the romance into that.Do you think they really love each other, or are they just sort of clinging to each other for emotional support?
I think they’re really in love. I think Owen—I’m not speaking for Sandra, but I think Owen pretty much in the season premiere, Cupid’s arrow shot him in the heart when he saw her across the room. Something happened. And this whole season is about them fighting through all this crap so they can get back to that thing. What’s cool about it is they’re both such intellectual, badass people in their work. It’s cool to see that happen to these people who are so straight ahead, showing each other their vulnerable sides and not showing them to anyone else. And she’s such a good actor. I think we’re really bouncing off each other well.Will this poor couple ever just get to have sex like everyone else at Seattle Grace?
I think they will. Just keep watching. A lot happens this week. I think they’ve drawn that one out a lot, and I know people are getting frustrated. I think it’s good because they’ve really connected on a mental and emotional level. And now I think it’s time they connect physically.What's up with the rest of the season? There are so many rumors about weddings, and Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight leaving...
You’re only just scratching the surface [in episodes that have aired] with where this Izzie [Katherine Heigl] thing is going. All I know is they’re in every episode. She’s not dying, or at least she hasn’t yet. What I can tell you about T.R.'s character is Hunt sees something in him that no one has seen before. Because his character’s been kind of a dark horse this season. There’s an event that happens and I realize there’s a lot more to him, that he has a set of skills that maybe he isn’t even aware of. Hunt starts to mentor him in a way that gets really interesting. So that’s cool to see.What has it been like, joining such a huge series with a history of off-screen drama?
I’ve always joined a show on day 1 -- and on top of that it’s a hit show, so I was expecting the worst. But the transition has been really nice. It might have been different a few years ago in the middle of the hoopla. But now everyone seems to have settled in; they’re all thankful to be there. I was nervous when I started. I didn’t really know the show. I watched the first two seasons because [creator] Shonda [Rhimes] wanted me to, but she said she didn’t want me to watch seasons 3 and 4 because she didn’t want Owen Hunt to know about the recent past. So I watched some to get a feel for the show, but I don’t know what happened with whoever and whoever, which is the way my character is.After the incident this week, what's ahead for Cristina and Owen?
He’ll be focusing on himself for a while. He and Cristina will very reluctantly realize they have to separate, which is hard because they’re really, really involved with each other. But they know they have to have some time apart. It’s going to be pretty emotional. He’s having to heal himself. They’re so clever, these writers. Some episodes you think it’s so light and fluffy, but they’re ratcheting up the emotional stuff a lot in the last part of the season. And that’s good television. At the end of this season there’s going to be a big curveball for Owen and Cristina that neither of them see coming. Just as he starts to get over his thing, something else happens. Which is good and bad. It’s like, Oh my God, this is big. It will be interesting to see how it leads into next season.
Source
Related posts:
