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‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Jake Borelli on Levi Schmitt’s Exit and Almost Refusing His Coming Out Storyline: ‘I Wasn’t Ready to Talk About’ It on a ‘Global Level’
'Grey's Anatomy' star Jake Borelli talks leaving the show after eight seasons, playing Levi Schmitt and being a queer actor playing a queer character.
But not wanting to sacrifice his personal life in pursuit of his professional ambitions, Schmitt asks his boyfriend, new hospital chaplain James (Michael Thomas Grant), to move across the country with him, declaring that he has fallen madly in love with him. He is still shadowing producing director Debbie Allen, with the goal of one day returning to helm an episode of “Grey’s.” In this exit interview, Borelli opens up about the life-changing experience of playing Schmitt, why he is particularly proud of his character’s evolution — and how he sees the current landscape for queer actors amidst an increasingly divisive and challenging sociopolitical climate. I think one of the big things that I’ve seen that has really supported that [shift] is a growing queerness in the creative realm, in terms of people behind the camera, directors, writers, producers, because when your environment reflects the storyline that you’re telling, it’s already more authentic.
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