Grey's Anatomy's pilot episode has one beloved character that was digitally added: Justin Chamber's Alex Karev. Here's what happened.

Greys Anatomys main cast was introduced in the pilot episode, but one fan-favorite character wasnt originally part of it and had to be digitally added: Alex Karev. Created by Shonda Rhimes, Greys Anatomy debuted on ABC in 2005, and though it was originally a mid-season replacement, it was so well-received by both critics and viewers that it has lived on for over 10 seasons, and shows no signs of stopping soon.

Like many other medical dramas, Greys Anatomy follows the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they juggle their careers and relationships. Greys Anatomy is led by Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who started her journey as an intern along with many other characters, among those Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), though this last one was very close to not being part of the series or, at least, not being introduced with the rest.

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Alex Karev is one of the few characters from season 1 that made it to season 16 and wasnt killed when it was time for him to leave. Alex started as the jerk of the group and went on to become Chief of Surgery at Pacific Northwest General Hospital before leaving it all behind to go back with Izzie. Alex became a fan-favorite in big part thanks to the development of the character, so it might come as a surprise to many that he originally wasnt part of the pilot episode, and was actually a last-minute addition, to the point where CGI had to be used.

Justin Chambers was cast as Alex Karev after the Greys Anatomypilot was shot, and the writers decided to add him as they wanted a male character who could play opposite to George OMalley, who was shy and kind, while Karev was rough around the edges. In order to make him part of the pilot and thus begin his arc alongside the ones of the other characters, Alex Karev was added through the magic of CGI. This might have not been evident upon the first viewing of the pilot, but going back to it now that years have passed (and CGI techniques have evolved), theres definitely something strange going on. Still, what gives the trick away is how badly edited his scenes are, as he just casually pops up from time to time. Though there are no details as to exactlyhow these scenes were shot, its safe to assume the team behind Greys Anatomyscanned Chambers face and body and added him to the scenes. However, they did film a whole new scene, with Karev and Meredith sharing the screen.

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Grey's Anatomy: Why Alex's Pilot Scenes Are CGI (& How They Were Filmed) - Screen Rant