Sarah Drew is opening up about why she hasn’t returned to Grey’s Anatomy in recent years after her surprising exit.
“I have never closed the door on that opportunity,” Drew, 46, exclusively tells Us. “They’ve invited me back twice [in 2021 and 2022] and I’ve gone back with my heart full, ready to work and excited to be home.”
Drew, who played April on the show from 2009 to 2018, says she hasn’t “gotten the call” to come back again — yet. The actress is also “very booked and busy” with roles in Jimmy and Hallmark’s Mistletoe Murders. She’s keeping her options open, however, while working on another Hallmark movie script after the success of A Cowboy Christmas Romance and A Carpenter Christmas Romance.
When Us suggests Drew should visit fellow Grey’s alum Jessica Capshaw on 9-1-1: Nashville, the actress quickly gets on board, saying, “Oh my gosh, that would be so fun! Please, please bring me over there.”
Before her reign as one of Hallmark’s Christmas queens, Drew had roles on Daria and Everwood. During her time on Grey’s, Drew was part of a fan-favorite romance with Jesse Williams, which paved the way for an offscreen friendship between the costars.
“We haven’t [discussed reuniting professionally yet]. But it would be so fun,” she gushes. “I would love to work with that guy again. I love him. We had the best time on that show. We were such good partners. So I would jump at the chance.”
Along with forming strong connections, Drew has learned some important lessons throughout her time in the spotlight.
“For me personally, I would not survive this career without my grounded and rootedness in my faith. This industry loves to tell you who you are and loves to tell you whether you’re valuable or not or how valuable you are or not,” she tells Us. “You’re really just swept on the whims of popularity at any given moment.”
Drew calls her faith her “grounding force,” adding, “I know that at the core of who I am, I belong and I’m beloved. I am a child of God, first and foremost. Nothing that happens in this industry can shake that and make me wonder if I have value or not because I know fundamentally. So that, for me, is the greatest gift that my faith has given me in trying to kind of weather the waves of this industry.”
Drew has enjoyed her successes even more thanks to her inner strength. She also gave credit to husband Peter Lanfer for helping her choose the best projects.
“The question that he always poses to me is, ‘Is this a story you want to tell?’ Full stop. Doesn’t matter what network it’s on. Doesn’t matter how fancy it is. Doesn’t matter how much money you’re going to make. Doesn’t matter what it’s doing to move the needle,” she says. “[He reminds me], ‘You are fundamentally interested in telling stories. You want to help people feel less alone in every story you tell. So, do you want to tell this story? If the answer is yes, we’ll figure it out. If the answer is no, why are we even talking about it?'”
Mistletoe Murders airs on the Hallmark Channel Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET. Jimmy is out in theaters now.
