page_title: Owen Hunt
section_title: Casting and creation
hierarchical_section_title: Owen Hunt / Development / Casting and creation
caption_attribution_description: English: Kevin McKidd at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. License on Flickr (2010-12-31): CC-BY-SA-2.0 Flickr tags: Kevin McKidd, TIFF2010, Toronto International Film Festival 2010, Rome, gdcgraphics, starstruckimages, Kingdom of Heaven, wikipedia
context_page_description: Owen Hunt, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on the American Broadcasting Company in the United States. The character was created by series' producer Shonda Rhimes, and is portrayed by Scottish actor Kevin McKidd. He was introduced in season five as a U.S. Army trauma surgeon who served in war-torn Iraq, and subsequently joins the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital to teach medicine as a surgical attending, head of trauma surgery, and eventual chief of surgery, sometimes with unorthodox methods. Originally contracted to appear for a multi-episode story arc, he was upgraded to a series' regular at the conclusion of his first appearance.
  The fictional character served as a love interest for surgical fellow Cristina Yang, and had an unstable personality when first introduced, suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. McKidd's connection with fellow actress Sandra Oh has been acclaimed amongst critics, with Matt Roush of TV Guide calling the "instant sparks" between McKidd and Oh "electrifying." McKidd was nominated for two awards for his work on the show, winning one of them.
context_section_description: Shonda Rhimes, series' creator, says that the character was envisioned "an old-fashioned tortured hero" and likens him to Heathcliff. Originally set to appear in a multi-episode story arc, Kevin McKidd's contract was extended, securing him a slot as a series' regular of Grey's Anatomy. In July 2008, Entertainment Weekly announced the possibility of McKidd becoming a series' regular, with this possibility eventually being confirmed by People. When asked of how he got involved with the show, McKidd offered the insight: 
  I was doing a movie off and on for three months, and it was my son's birthday, so I managed to land back in LA. around 2 p.m. Then I got a call from my agent, saying, "You have to turn back around because Shonda wants to meet you for this role on Grey’s." I was like, "I'd love to meet her, but I can't. Can we do tomorrow?" And they're family-friendly, so they were really understanding. As soon as I heard the pitch for the character, I was sold on it. It's a different energy and a different viewpoint. I thought it was an important story to tell, especially on a prime-time TV show. To get in there and get your hands dirty and explore what trauma surgery is like in war zones and what it's like to rehabilitate yourself to civilian life. It's not just a new doctor showing up. It's exploring how hard it is to reintegrate yourself back into the real world after being in the war zone for three tours.
   McKidd told BuddyTV, "It's been really great. I was nervous when I started because every job I've ever done before this, I have been in the job right from day one when everybody's new and getting to know each other. So I was nervous because I had never done this before. And I feel really grateful to the Grey's cast and crew and everyone there, really, because they've been so nice to me and gracious and accepting of me joining the show. The transition was much easier than I thought it might be, which I'm very grateful for." McKidd has told People that he thinks Grey's Anatomy is a great show and he feels lucky to be on it. Shonda Rhimes, the series' creator, said of his addition, "I am excited to have Kevin McKidd joining us for the season, he's been a delight to collaborate with and brings incredible passion, talent and creativity to his work. Plus, he’s already got the ‘Mc’ built into his name so we had to keep him."
caption: McKidd had to postpone his appointment with series' creator Shonda Rhimes due to it being his son's birthday.[17]
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