★ The Hollywood Reporter posted an interview with Justin and Camilla Luddington done during a set visit for the midseason finale. In it, both actors discuss their thoughts about the relationship between their characters and Justin talks a bit about Alex’s relationship with his friend Meredith.

Below is an excerpt from the interview:

As for the couple’s future, both Luddington and Chambers would like to see Alex and Jo become the next major wedding event on Grey’s Anatomy.

“They’re so messy together, but every single couple on the show is and they have their issues,” Luddington says. “They work well together and I think they’re both really growing in their relationship. Even Jo being open and having this conversation where she’s like, ‘You know what? I am jealous and this sucks; I don’t feel like I’m No. 1.’ That’s tough for her to have. You can see Alex really growing up in their relationship, too, and stepping forward and being a supportive boyfriend. I think they do have what it takes.”

Chambers agrees and sees Jo as Alex’s endgame.

“He really likes her a lot,” he says. “Maybe we’ll get to see them in more domesticated situations and the typical day-to-day relationship stuff. I think they complement each other, I really do.”

Chambers, one of the handful of original series regulars to remain on the Shonda Rhimes-produced drama for all 11 seasons, has enjoyed seeing a new side of Alex this season as Meredith continues to see him as her “person.”

“It’s great to see that side of Alex. You get to see him become a voice of reason, and Alex has always seemed a little more impulsive or reactive,” he says. “This time with Meredith, it seems like he’s more thoughtful and paces himself. He’s articulating himself. To help her bonds the relationship more. It’s an interesting dynamic. It seems like Alex has become a little more like George (T.R. Knight) this year. Everyone’s coming to him for advice. He seems to be more in touch with his emotions and being able to voice them. He was such a prick in the beginning and now he’s not angry all the time and just gives advice and gets to be a little sane. It’s a nice change.”

To read the full interview, click on this link: The Hollywood Reporter – ‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Will Alex and Jo Get Married?

 
★ With the end of the year approaching, lists of the best and worst of 2014 are coming out. TV Fanatic lists Jo and Alex, aka Jolex, as the Best Romance of 2014.

★ The Hollywood Reporter was on the set of Grey’s Anatomy while they were shooting the mid-season finale, and asked several cast members questions about what’s to come when the show returns in January. Below is the question posed to Justin. Full article can be read at: The Hollywood Reporter.

Will Alex be there to support Arizona more now that she moved into his house?
Justin Chambers: It’s a little bit like what Alex has been dealing with with Meredith. In a sense, he’s kind of become Arizona’s person, too. She’s opening up about things that are going on in her personal life that we’ve never really seen them talk about them before. Alex also seems to be the voice of reason for her, too. I think it will deepen their friendship as well. It’s also a nice place to see their friendship.

 
★ In Switzerland, season 10 of Grey’s Anatomy is currently airing, and this week an interview with Justin was published in Swiss publication Le Matin. The original interview in french can be read at the source: http://www.lematin.ch/loisirs/television/alex-con-mechant/story/15024382. The english translation is below.

“ALEX IS AN IDIOT, BUT HE’S NOT EVIL.”

Meet Justin Chambers, one of the pillars of “Grey’s Anatomy”, while RTS broadcasts season 10 – yes, already! – every Wednesday at 21:15.

Justin Chambers with Camilla Luddington: “Jo really brings out the best in Alex.”

 
This is not Patrick Dempsey. True. But in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, between a predictable McDreamy and an arrogant Dr. Alex Karev and therefore always likely to surprise us, we much prefer the latter, embodied by Justin Chambers. Arriving in 2005 at Seattle Grace Hospital, as part of the first flock of interns, the actor saw the former ones leave, new ones arrive, all accompanied by a few small scandals. He has remained and says he’s very pleased. His character has also evolved well all this time, since he became licensed in pediatric surgery. Having met at the last Monte Carlo Television Festival, Justin Chambers, 44, returns to this key season of “Grey’s Anatomy”, the 10th, that RTS One broadcasts every Wednesday.

“Grey’s Anatomy” is becoming as significant as “ER.” What are its strengths?
It is a medical series, so you are facing life and death, tribulations, romance, too, and the relationships between the characters. These are the factors behind the success of the series. As well as the diversity of all the characters and their adventures. This is the number one asset, actually. In fact, this is something that no one was doing onscreen with doctors when “Grey’s Anatomy” appeared. The public is really fascinated with these characters. They want to know what happens to them in the next episode. So, yes, it works. (He smiles)

Other medical series have been created over the past decade, but none have achieved this success. What makes it so difficult to convince the public?
I don’t know. I think “Grey’s Anatomy” is a good mix of comedy and drama. And viewers really want to know what happens to the interns because they watch human beings become doctors. So we see them progress. That’s our thing. Most medical series only speak of medicine. I think that Shonda (note: Rhymes, creator of the series) has called “Grey’s Anatomy” since the beginning, is that they’re teenagers with scalpels. And it’s true. We are immature and that’s what people want to see.

What is your best memory of “Grey’s Anatomy” so far? The wedding of Alex and Izzie?
That is one of them. I have many. When you work on something for so long, the memories get a bit confusing, but it’s always exciting to get up in the morning. The cast has been renewed, they bring new energy, it’s interesting.

What makes you stay?
The job. It’s always good to have one! And you know, the producers want to keep Alex, they like him. And that’s something nice to have in mind when you go to the studios. I’m excited to work with the same people, it’s comfortable and it’s nice to have job security.

When the show was created, what was your reaction when you found out you were going to play someone pretentious and arrogant?
It was exciting! It’s always good to play someone different. I’m not like that in nature, so I’m having fun with my character. Playing the bad boy, it’s funny!

Alex is a bad person, in your opinion?
No. I think he’s an idiot! But obviously we discover in the course of the show he has a good heart, he is very sensitive and he hides it with an arrogant attitude. But he was more like that in the first seasons. That’s what makes the character interesting; you don’t know how he will react.

Back to you. After college high school, you left the United States for France. For what reason?
I came to visit a friend with whom I grew up with in Ohio and who was studying in France. He told me to stay and I was spotted by a modeling agency. I then traveled for three years thanks to that job.

Do you speak a bit of French?
(In french) A bit…

You have five children. The oldest turns 20 in December. Does she study medicine?
No. But you know what, what inspires her in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ is the music. This is also one of the aspects that has greatly contributed to the success of the show. She would like to be music supervisor. They aren’t composers but people who discover unknown artists to use their music in content, like the show. So she won’t be a doctor, but it’s not bad either!

★ In the November 15th edition of Britain’s TV Choice magazine, there is a Justin interview where he talks about ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. Twitter user Jess [ @McDreamFamily ] kindly shared a photo of the interview with us. BIG thanks goes out to her. Click on the link for the album.

TV Choice – November 15, 2014

 
★ Another interview was published in Turkish magazine Habertürk. This was another interview I couldn’t translate, but luckily for us my pal Burcu [ @karevwilson ] is awesome and did the translation. GIGANTIC thanks to Burcu! 🙂

The original interview can also be read at the source: Justin Chambers: ‘Baba olmak en büyük mücadele’ and the translation is below.

“Being a dad is the biggest challenge.”

We have conducted a pleasant interview with Grey’s Anatomy’s handsome doctor Justin Chambers, in which we have discussed his now deeply ingrained role, his marriage of 20 years and five kids. Dr Karev from ABC Studio’s legendary TV show, which is going to air its 11th season on Digitürk Drama, is exclusively with us on Habertürk.

Did you plan on becoming a doctor when you were a child?
When I was in school I wanted to become a dentist, but my math skills were so bad that I couldn’t fulfill this dream. At least I’m playing a doctor on TV at the moment.

Do you have any hospital memories?
My brother and I used to romp around a lot, which lead to us having to be hospitalized 12 or 13 times a year. One Christmas while playing in the backyard I fell and broke my arm, so we went to the hospital with our dinner.

How does one manage to be a successful actor and a father of five at the same time?
Everything in life is a challenge but being a father is the biggest. Even if there are difficult parts to it my kids help me. It’s possible for me to release all the stress and exhaustion after a day on set just by putting them to sleep or holding them. If I were all by myself I’m sure I would down a bottle of whiskey when going home after filming, but this way is healthier for me. This TV show has seriously changed my life. I have not once told my children “we can’t afford this” and I thank God for that.

But well, isn’t being married for 20 years a record for Hollywood?
Well, if you think about it, isn’t Hollywood consisting of families anyway? Hollywood is in fact one big family, where you have families inside of one family.

Do you plan on having more kids?
No. God, no!

As someone who remembers you as a model from Calvin Klein campaigns, may I ask how you manage to still look the same?
I think the youthfulness of my children keeps me energetic and alert. Actually, I feel kind of old. If you see me differently, lucky me. But I feel 10 years older than people of my generation. Because digesting Hollywood is extremely difficult and very exhausting both physically and mentally.

Some great new scans have been added to our gallery of a Justin interview that came in Belgium’s Het Nieuwsblad weekend magazine. A HUGE thank you goes out to Twitter user Ortho Goddess [ @TorresGoddess ] for generously scanning and sending in the interview.

I’ve done the translations for all the other interviews, but this one in flemish (belgian dutch) was out of my league. LOL. Luckily, Anouk [ @nouklemore] was kind enough to do the translation. MASSIVE thanks goes out to Anouk for her amazing work with the translation.

Link to the interview scans is below and also the English translation.

Het Nieuwsblad (Belgium) – September 20, 2014

Justin Chambers, eleven seasons as Dr. Alex Karev on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

THEY ALWAYS HAVE TO GOOGLE MY NAME

Originally his character wasn’t even in the pilot of the show, but that turned around. Justin Chambers (44), once a model for Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani, has become one with his character as badboy/ doctor Alex Karev, after eleven seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. No big deal, the actor thinks. “Being a regular on a show has always been a dream. So don’t complain when you get recognized on the streets and they confuse you with your character.”

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Sandra Oh posted on Twitter a photo from the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Halloween Party held last Saturday. Check it out:

Happy Halloween All! Me, Chandra,JC (he's Norm our m/u man) Kev & Pick(he's Facebook). Safe & Fun night! pic.twitter.com/rrYALEIYP2

— Sandra Oh (@IamSandraOh) October 31, 2014

 
An interview with Justin came out a few weeks ago in a Portuguese newspaper. It can be read online at the following link: Justin Chambers: ‘Sou o género de pessoa que faz as coisas mal’

For those who don’t speak portuguese, the interview is translated below. In it, Justin talks about Grey’s Anatomy, Lindsay Wagner and a bit about his kids.

Justin Chambers: “I’m the kind of person who gets things wrong”

Chambers is, for ten seasons, the impulsive Dr. Alex Karev on Grey’s Anatomy. In a mini-interview to a small group of journalists in London, the actor told how stability allowed him to see his five children grow up. With the departure of Cristina Yang (played by Sandra Oh) it’s assumed that Dr. Karev may have more protagonism. The new season launched on Fox Life on October 9th.

You are one of the key characters and you’ve been on the show since the beginning. Is it very important for the older characters to remain after ten seasons?
Yes, but it’s important to have new assets. Early on, the show gained a multitude of viewers and now this younger generation has also brought in other viewers. There are 13, 14-year-old kids that come to me and say they watch the show and I’m sure this has a lot to do with these younger actors. But we must see that this is a show in which people have invested a lot in the characters over 10, 11 years, and are still interested in the work they do because the ratings are very high for a product that has lasted so long. And the production has made it a point to make an effort to keep all the actors who want to stay on the show. And I like that security and to be able to continue to work with these people.

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★ In May of this year, Justin made an appearance at the Disabled Veteran Business Alliance event “Keeping the Promise“. On November 14th, Justin will once again show his support for veteran causes by attending the Salute to Veterans Day Breakfast.
The event will take place at the Beverly Hilton from 8:30 am – 11:00 am. Here is the link for more info including the registration to attend: DVBA.org

 
★ I added to the gallery scans from recent editions Us Weekly and OK! magazines that featured photos of Justin. Links are below.

Us Weekly – November 3, 2014
OK! (US) – November 10, 2014

 
★ Rob Greenlea, who has directed episodes of Grey’s Anatomy including next week’s episode, tweeted two photos from season 8 as a Throwback Thursday last week. The lion photo is from episode 8.18 “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, and the photo of Justin sitting next to a hospital bed is from episode 8.14 “All You Need Is Love” (I think). Check out the photos on Twitter or click on this direct link to the Justin photo.

TGIT! TBT behind greys in B&W pics of the week. pic.twitter.com/YYQPl9HqfO

— Rob Greenlea (@GreenleaRob) October 23, 2014

I should’ve mentioned this before, but better later than never. It’s impossible for me to get my hands on every single interview that comes out in different countries. If anyone wants to share an article or interview (any language – I’ll deal with translating it, if I can) and would be willing to send in the scan(s), it would be greatly appreciated and you’ll be credited. You can e-mail me at: diana6022@gmail.com . Thanks! 🙂

 
Here is another interview Justin gave while doing press for ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ this summer in Europe. The scan of the interview has been added to the gallery (click on the image for the album) and the english translation is below.

Metro – August 19, 2014
«Grey’s Anatomy owes its success to its diversity.»

While the 10th season of Grey’s Anatomy will resume September 16 on VIJF, we met Justin Chambers, aka the handsome and tortured Dr. Karev on the popular medical drama. The 44-year-old actor, who is part of the original cast, reveals the secret of this longevity. He talks about his character, his experience on the show and also tells us a few anecdotes from filming.

After ten seasons, how do you see the evolution of the series?
In the current television climate, it is rare that a show lasts so long while still having quality. There are always more viewers, this is a true blessing! And it’s always very exciting. All the credit goes to Shonda Rhimes, who has created something new, that has kept people interested, with characters who are always interesting.

You are part of the original cast. How would you describe your experience?
Long (laughs). I can’t remember my life before the show. I feel that it’s been over ten years that I’ve been doing this. But as an actor, to know where you go to work, have this security, it’s not common. When that happens, it’s something that you should cherish and be grateful. And in addition, we don’t drag our feet to work, it’s a family atmosphere and there is always something new.

What is the secret of such longevity?
There are so many ingredients! But the first one I would mention is the diversity because there are so many different characters. Viewers always find a character that they can identify with. Then, it’s a medical drama so you have the conflict between life and death, illness, etc. You have this hospital but especially these surgeons that we’ve seen evolve since the beginning of their internship to their residency. And then, there are obviously romantic relationships, sex, and now their families.

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