Hallmark star Sarah Drew has handled some tough situations while portraying her various characters over the years. However, the “Mistletoe Murders” star recently opened up about an especially difficult experience she navigated while playing April Kepner on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Sarah Drew Was 8 Months Pregnant While Filming Her Baby’s Death on ‘Grey’s’
On December 11, Drew talked with Soaps.com about what she said was the hardest scene she ever had to do. The experience came when Drew was pregnant with her daughter, Hannah, who is now 10.
At the time, Drew’s character was also pregnant. In a heartbreaking twist, however, it was discovered that April’s baby had a genetic disorcer called osteogenesis imperfecta, also called brittle bone disease.
Drew recalled the day when she had to film the scenes where she had labor induced, gave birth to her son, and had him die moments later in her arms. At the time they filmed those scenes for “Grey’s Anatomy,” Drew explained, she was eight months pregnant with Hannah, just weeks away from her due date.
The day of filming was long and intense. Drew said it took 10 hours to shoot that one heartbreaking scene. When she went home after filming, she soon went into premature labor with Hannah. The baby was born “a month early and was in the NICU for two weeks,” she recalled.
“Definitely the hardest cene I’ve ever had to shoot,” Drew noted. Now, she says, she can laugh about it. However, “It was not funny at the time.”
Despite the difficulties and intensity, Drew shared that “it was a beautiful story that I got to play and I’m really proud of that story.”
Drew thinks the story “had a lot of impact on a lot of people.” However, she added, it “did a number on my nervous system for sure.”
Fans Had Strong Reactions to Drew’s Experience
Fans had a lot to say about what Drew shared regarding that difficult experience.
On Instagram, one person wrote, “Diabolical of the writers to do that to a pregnant woman. That is horrifying.”
Another person concurred. “They most definitely stressed her so badly that she went into preterm labor… that’s horrifying.”
A commenter on Facebook added, “That’s why that scene deserved an Emmy, wow. She left it all on that set.”
Someone else shared, “That was the most brilliantly acted scene in all of Grey’s Anatomy. Sarah Drew and Jesse Williams were amazing.”
