Supergirl star Chyler Leigh made a return visit to Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Lexie Grey, appearing in title character Dr. Meredith Grey's dreams while she's in a coma. But Leigh's presence on the Grey's beach set in Malibu, CA, was virtual in another way, because of coronavirus (COVID-19) travel restrictions.
Eric Dane, who also guest-starred in the episode "Breathe," as Dr. Mark Sloan, revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that Leigh wasn't physically with him and Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith, when they filmed their scenes. "Chyler was in Vancouver. So we had to work some magic. Chyler could get here but then she couldn't get back to Canada. There was some greenscreen. There was a lot of me and Ellen," Dane said.
During Grey's Anatomy's current season, its 17th, Meredith contracted coronavirus and, while comatose, has been having visions of important people in her life. In "Breathe," she saw her late sister, Lexie, and friend Mark, who each died from complications from injuries suffered in a plane crash. Leigh was on Grey's Anatomy for five seasons, Dane for seven.
Dane said he wished the reunion could have been done differently, telling an interviewer, "Yeah. I'm honestly bummed you even asked me that because I wanted to sell the myths of us actually being onscreen together in person. But don't take it personally. It's OK, you're doing your job. But Ellen and I see each other every now and again, Justin [Chambers] and I see each other every now and again. I spent so much of my life with these guys. When you see them again, it's not a big, "Oh my God, what have you done?" It's like, nobody skips a beat. It's just, everything kind of fit. It fit then; it still fits."
Source: The Hollywood Reporter