Alex Karev
Encyclopedia
Alexander "Alex" Michael Karev, is a fictional
surgeon
on the ABC
television series Grey's Anatomy
, portrayed by actor Justin Chambers
. The character was not included in the original pilot script, but was added in after the pilot was shot, meaning initial scenes with him were either reshoots or digital alterations.
In season one, his relationships with most of his co-workers are rocky. He is also very free with women, and his first lasting relationship is with Izzie Stevens.
. He initially makes a poor impression on his fellow interns, and taunts Izzie Stevens
(Katherine Heigl
) when he discovers she used to be a lingerie model. After initial disagreements, Alex reveals to Izzie that his father was a heroin addict who used to beat his mother. He became a wrestler so he could defend his mother, and attended university on a wrestling scholarship. He and Izzie begin a friendship. At the end of the first season, George O'Malley
(T.R. Knight) contracts syphilis
from Alex through nurse Olivia Harper, causing animosity between the two.
with her. He goes on to sleep with Olivia again, and when they are caught by Izzie, she breaks up with him. After retaking his exams, Alex manages a pass, and reunites with Izzie after a bomb scare in the hospital. They break up again, however, when Izzie falls for cardiothoracic patient Denny Duquette
.
Alex spends a period of time working under neonatal surgeon Addison Montgomery
(Kate Walsh
), and though he is later released to work for plastic surgeon Mark Sloan
(Eric Dane
), he finds his interest returning to Addison's firm. Addison is attracted to Alex, and the two share a kiss and later sleep together. However, Alex refutes her further advances.
(Chyler Leigh
), but chooses to be with Rebecca when she returns and tells him she is pregnant. Izzie discovers that Rebecca is not in fact pregnant, and Alex cares for Rebecca when she becomes increasingly hysterical. After Rebecca slits her wrists, Izzie convinces Alex to admit her for psychiatric help. Alex discovers that Rebecca's husband has left her and taken their child, and that she is mentally ill. Alex breaks down in Izzie's arms, and the two kiss.
with an estimated chance of 5% survival. Alex is shocked by the news, but finds the strength to stay by her side. Izzie plans a wedding for their friends Meredith
and Derek
, but when Derek finds Izzie has another inoperable tumor in her brain, they give the wedding to Izzie and Alex, who marry in front of all their friends.
After their impromptu wedding, Izzie debates whether or not she should undergo a risky surgery to remove her tumor. Alex supports her, but eventually insists that she should have the surgery. Izzie agrees but signs a DNR form. Alex begs her to reconsider, but Izzie refuses and tells him that "if it comes down to it" he must let her go. After the surgery, Izzie loses her short-term memory and Alex works to help her regain it, which she does after an argument between the two. After they both realize that she has regained her memory, Alex apologizes for his earlier outburst, but Izzie's heart rate flat-lines. The scene ends as Izzie's friends and coworkers ignore the DNR order in an attempt to resuscitate her, and Alex looks on tearfully.
When Meredith fears Alex will start sleeping around again to forget about his pain, she calls Izzie and tells her Alex might be moving on. At the same time, Alex has a one-night stand with Lexie. When Izzie arrives back home next morning, Alex almost immediately tells her he slept with someone else, but Izzie tells him they will get through this. When she later sees him with the results of her head scan earlier that day, they hug and Alex tells her he loves her so much, and that she made him a better guy - but being that better guy now, he finally understands he's too good for this, he does not deserve to be treated like this, so he asks her to move on with her life, like he will; without each other.
Alex seems to have recently found that his calling is actually Peds and not Plastics as he had decided in the earlier seasons. Seeing Alex's ability to handle child patients, Arizona Robbins
shows an interest in mentoring him for that specialization. Initially considering it to be a girls' job Alex did not want to consider the same however he too shows to be developing a knack for it now.
Alex' brother Aaron later comes to Seattle Grace for surgery, and lots of painful memories resurface because of this. Meredith discovers Alex, along with Aaron and their sister Amber, had been in foster care for 5 years when their mother could not take care of them. Alex has trouble adjusting to the fact that his brother is back, but they later make amends after the surgery, and Aaron thanks him for always protecting him from their father when he was young. That day, Alex was also served with divorce papers from Izzie.
In the first half of the 2-part season finale, Alex is shot in the hospital, but survives with the help of Lexie and Mark. While undergoing treatment, he mistakes Lexie for Izzie, telling her "[she] came back" and tearfully begging her never to leave him again; Lexie, declining to correct him, assures him that she never will.
Later, Dr. Bailey
bars Alex from surgery until he has the bullet removed, which he later allows her to do. It is also revealed in the episode "Superfreak" that Karev is using the staircases because he is afraid of the elevators due to his shooting in the Season 6 finale. Chief Webber
notices this and forces Alex to ride the elevator with him until he is no longer nervous inside it. Following the first few episodes of this season, Alex realises that his passions lie in Pediatric Surgery
. He is further shown to be excellent with children, comforting with a young patient while growing her a new trachea.
He immediately gets on the wrong side of new Pediatric attending Stark, who then steals his idea for a infant liver transplant patient. Alex then attempts to sleep with virgin April Kepner
in an on-call room but when April asks him to go a little slower, he blows up at her, telling her that he will not hold her hand and that he cannot take care of everyone. When Alex arrives to Cristina's housewarming party, Jackson Avery
beats him up brutally after a hysterical April tells him the story. Alex later confesses to Meredith he was in Iowa, and had gone home because his brother Aaron had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, discovered when Aaron had tried to kill his and Alex's sixteen-year-old sister, Amber. Alex tells Meredith how he could not bear to stay with his family. Alex and Meredith perform an emergent surgery on a young boy by themselves during the night shift, dealing with the angry fallout from Stark (who would not answer his pager) but gaining the wordless approval of the Chief.
Alex is thrilled when Arizona returns from Africa and hopes she will come to work for the hospital again. When a shooter goes on a killing spree at a University nearby, patients are brought in, and Alex must operate with Stark on a young girl. When an infection in her leg threatens to shut down her entire body, Stark decides to cut off her leg. Arizona witnesses this, and after a desperate cry out from Alex, she begs the Chief to give her back her privileges, while Alex makes sure Stark does not touch the girl's leg.
Alex eventually gets over Izzie for good and falls for the new OBGYN attending, Lucy Fields, and she kisses him in episode 17. By the following episode, they seem to have started a relationship. When Alex is offered a job in Africa he tells Lucy but chooses to stay for her but when goes to tell her that he is staying she informs him that she took the job instead. Alex later finds out about Meredith sabotaging her Alzheimer's clinical trial with Derek and rats her out which ends with him getting evicted by Meredith from her house. Later that episode, Alex is at Joe's bar after losing a patient and Lucy walks in and asks him to make her stay. Partly drunk, he just tells her to "go to hell".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, portrayed by actor Justin Chambers
Justin Chambers
Justin W. Chambers is an American actor and former Calvin Klein male fashion model. As of 2005, he is starring in the ABC drama series Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Alex Karev....
. The character was not included in the original pilot script, but was added in after the pilot was shot, meaning initial scenes with him were either reshoots or digital alterations.
Background
Alex has a very long history of family issues, starting when he was a young boy. His mother had a mental problem and his father was never there to take care of them. His father often beat him and his mother, until one day, Alex beat his father up badly enough so that he never came back. Alex has a younger brother, Aaron, and a younger sister, Amber; they were all placed in foster care for 5 years when things got rough back home. Though Aaron and Amber only had a few foster families, Alex went through 17 foster families in 5 years before he reunited with his siblings. It is revealed in later seasons that Aaron was diagnosed with schizophrenia and tried to kill Amber. Alex was present when Aaron had to be committed to a psychiatric ward.In season one, his relationships with most of his co-workers are rocky. He is also very free with women, and his first lasting relationship is with Izzie Stevens.
Season One
Alex appears from the first episode of Grey's Anatomy, having secured a position in the surgical residency program at Seattle Grace Hospital after graduating from the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. He initially makes a poor impression on his fellow interns, and taunts Izzie Stevens
Izzie Stevens
Isobel 'Izzie' Katherine Stevens is a fictional character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on ABC in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, and was portrayed by actress Katherine Heigl from 2005 to 2010...
(Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
) when he discovers she used to be a lingerie model. After initial disagreements, Alex reveals to Izzie that his father was a heroin addict who used to beat his mother. He became a wrestler so he could defend his mother, and attended university on a wrestling scholarship. He and Izzie begin a friendship. At the end of the first season, George O'Malley
George O'Malley
George O'Malley was a fictional surgeon from the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by actor T. R. Knight. Knight appeared as George from the beginning of the show until its fifth season finale. Knight will not be returning to the show and has been released from his contract...
(T.R. Knight) contracts syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
from Alex through nurse Olivia Harper, causing animosity between the two.
Season Two
In the show's second season, Alex asks Izzie out in a date, but he is thrown by the news he has failed his medical board exams. Izzie is offended since he pays no attention to her during their date and so informs him that she no longer wants to go out with him. He later freezes during an emergency operation, needing George to take over from him. Alex's relationship with Izzie is damaged when he experiences erectile dysfunctionErectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sexual performance....
with her. He goes on to sleep with Olivia again, and when they are caught by Izzie, she breaks up with him. After retaking his exams, Alex manages a pass, and reunites with Izzie after a bomb scare in the hospital. They break up again, however, when Izzie falls for cardiothoracic patient Denny Duquette
Denny Duquette
Dennison Duquette, Jr., more commonly known as Denny Duquette, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and was created by Shonda Rhimes...
.
Alex spends a period of time working under neonatal surgeon Addison Montgomery
Addison Montgomery
Addison Adrienne Forbes Montgomery , was a fictional character on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, and is currently starring on its spin-off show Private Practice. Addison is a world-class neonatal surgeon with board certifications in both Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Maternal and Fetal...
(Kate Walsh
Kate Walsh (actor)
Kathleen Erin "Kate" Walsh is an American film and television actress, currently known for her role as Dr. Addison Montgomery on the ABC dramas Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.-Early life:...
), and though he is later released to work for plastic surgeon Mark Sloan
Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy)
Mark Sloan is a fictional surgeon from the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by Eric Dane.-Storylines:Mark first appears in season two, introduced as a highly-respected otolaryngologist sub-specialized in plastic surgery and the former best friend of neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd...
(Eric Dane
Eric Dane
Eric Dane is an American actor. After appearing in television roles throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he became known for playing Dr...
), he finds his interest returning to Addison's firm. Addison is attracted to Alex, and the two share a kiss and later sleep together. However, Alex refutes her further advances.
Season Three
In the aftermath of a ferry accident, Alex rescues a pregnant woman from beneath a fallen pylon. She awakes with amnesia, and grows close to Alex who helps her forge an identity for herself, picking out the name Ava. After she gives birth to her daughter, Ava's memory eventually returns, although she tries to hide it from Alex as she had recently left a bad marriage. He convinces her to tell him her true identity, and she reveals herself to be Rebecca Pope. When Rebecca's husband arrives at the hospital, she asks Alex to give her a reason to stay in Seattle. Alex turns her down, feeling that he is not good enough for her. Addison urges Alex to reconsider, but when he returns to the hospital, Rebecca has been discharged.Season Four
Rebecca returns in the show's fourth season, and she and Alex sleep together before she goes back to her husband. Alex has a brief relationship with intern Lexie GreyLexie Grey
Alexandra Caroline Grey, more commonly known as Lexie Grey, is a fictional surgeon from the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by Chyler Leigh, and was created by Shonda Rhimes. She was made an official series regular for season four...
(Chyler Leigh
Chyler Leigh
Chyler Leigh is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Dr. Lexie Grey on ABC's Grey's Anatomy. She also portrayed Janey Briggs in Not Another Teen Movie.-Early life:...
), but chooses to be with Rebecca when she returns and tells him she is pregnant. Izzie discovers that Rebecca is not in fact pregnant, and Alex cares for Rebecca when she becomes increasingly hysterical. After Rebecca slits her wrists, Izzie convinces Alex to admit her for psychiatric help. Alex discovers that Rebecca's husband has left her and taken their child, and that she is mentally ill. Alex breaks down in Izzie's arms, and the two kiss.
Season Five
In the aftermath of Rebecca's breakdown, Alex lashes out at Izzie, though they later go on to begin their relationship anew. Izzie begins hallucinating about Denny, and uncovers the fact she has metastatic melanoma (Stage IV)Melanoma
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...
with an estimated chance of 5% survival. Alex is shocked by the news, but finds the strength to stay by her side. Izzie plans a wedding for their friends Meredith
Meredith Grey
Meredith Grey is a fictional surgeon and the series protagonist on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actress Ellen Pompeo. In 2007, Pompeo was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Meredith...
and Derek
Derek Shepherd
Derek Christopher Shepherd, also referred to as McDreamy, is a fictional surgeon on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey, who was nominated in 2006 and 2007 Golden Globe for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series Drama for...
, but when Derek finds Izzie has another inoperable tumor in her brain, they give the wedding to Izzie and Alex, who marry in front of all their friends.
After their impromptu wedding, Izzie debates whether or not she should undergo a risky surgery to remove her tumor. Alex supports her, but eventually insists that she should have the surgery. Izzie agrees but signs a DNR form. Alex begs her to reconsider, but Izzie refuses and tells him that "if it comes down to it" he must let her go. After the surgery, Izzie loses her short-term memory and Alex works to help her regain it, which she does after an argument between the two. After they both realize that she has regained her memory, Alex apologizes for his earlier outburst, but Izzie's heart rate flat-lines. The scene ends as Izzie's friends and coworkers ignore the DNR order in an attempt to resuscitate her, and Alex looks on tearfully.
Season Six
In the next season, Izzie regains a heartbeat. Both Izzie and Alex move out of Meredith's house and into Derek's trailer in the woods. But in a turn of events due to the failing economy, Seattle Grace has to make job cuts as they merge with "rival" hospital Mercy West. Fearing for her job, Izzie returns to work even though she is still undergoing treatment for her cancer. Izzie commits a grave mistake on a patient and gets fired. After being let go, Izzie disappears, leaving Alex a "Dear John" letter and no clue as to her whereabouts. Alex is currently trying to get back in touch with Izzie, but she is unreachable. When Izzie came to the hospital, she and Alex spoke in the gallery. She informed Alex that she could not forgive him for talking to the Chief. Alex said he could not forgive her either for leaving without talking to him first and left her alone in the gallery.When Meredith fears Alex will start sleeping around again to forget about his pain, she calls Izzie and tells her Alex might be moving on. At the same time, Alex has a one-night stand with Lexie. When Izzie arrives back home next morning, Alex almost immediately tells her he slept with someone else, but Izzie tells him they will get through this. When she later sees him with the results of her head scan earlier that day, they hug and Alex tells her he loves her so much, and that she made him a better guy - but being that better guy now, he finally understands he's too good for this, he does not deserve to be treated like this, so he asks her to move on with her life, like he will; without each other.
Alex seems to have recently found that his calling is actually Peds and not Plastics as he had decided in the earlier seasons. Seeing Alex's ability to handle child patients, Arizona Robbins
Arizona Robbins
Arizona Robbins is a fictional character on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by Jessica Capshaw. She was introduced in the show's fifth season as an attending surgeon and the new head of pediatric surgery.Originally contracted to appear in three episodes, Capshaw's contract was...
shows an interest in mentoring him for that specialization. Initially considering it to be a girls' job Alex did not want to consider the same however he too shows to be developing a knack for it now.
Alex' brother Aaron later comes to Seattle Grace for surgery, and lots of painful memories resurface because of this. Meredith discovers Alex, along with Aaron and their sister Amber, had been in foster care for 5 years when their mother could not take care of them. Alex has trouble adjusting to the fact that his brother is back, but they later make amends after the surgery, and Aaron thanks him for always protecting him from their father when he was young. That day, Alex was also served with divorce papers from Izzie.
In the first half of the 2-part season finale, Alex is shot in the hospital, but survives with the help of Lexie and Mark. While undergoing treatment, he mistakes Lexie for Izzie, telling her "[she] came back" and tearfully begging her never to leave him again; Lexie, declining to correct him, assures him that she never will.
Season Seven
In the opener of season 7, Lexie, unable to process the shooting, has a mental breakdown in front of Alex. Mark asks Alex to help her but he refuses and walks away. He returns to being very promiscuous and refuses to have the bullet from his chest removed, saying that it's "his war wound." After insulting Lexie, she cuts him down to size, stating that he is not "badass" for living because she is the reason that he survived and that while he was dying, he cried out for the wife who left him. Alex is left speechless.Later, Dr. Bailey
Miranda Bailey
Dr. Miranda Bailey is a fictional surgeon on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actress Chandra Wilson, who won a 2007 Screen Actor's Guild Award for the role...
bars Alex from surgery until he has the bullet removed, which he later allows her to do. It is also revealed in the episode "Superfreak" that Karev is using the staircases because he is afraid of the elevators due to his shooting in the Season 6 finale. Chief Webber
Richard Webber
Richard Webber is a fictional surgeon from the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actor James Pickens, Jr., and was created by Shonda Rhimes...
notices this and forces Alex to ride the elevator with him until he is no longer nervous inside it. Following the first few episodes of this season, Alex realises that his passions lie in Pediatric Surgery
Pediatric surgery
Pediatric surgery or paediatric surgery is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults...
. He is further shown to be excellent with children, comforting with a young patient while growing her a new trachea.
He immediately gets on the wrong side of new Pediatric attending Stark, who then steals his idea for a infant liver transplant patient. Alex then attempts to sleep with virgin April Kepner
April Kepner
April Kepner is a fictional character from the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by Sarah Drew. She was a recurring character in the show's sixth season, before being promoted to a series regular in season seven...
in an on-call room but when April asks him to go a little slower, he blows up at her, telling her that he will not hold her hand and that he cannot take care of everyone. When Alex arrives to Cristina's housewarming party, Jackson Avery
Jackson Avery
Jackson Avery is a fictional surgeon on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by Jesse Williams. He was a recurring character in the sixth season before being made an official series regular for season seven...
beats him up brutally after a hysterical April tells him the story. Alex later confesses to Meredith he was in Iowa, and had gone home because his brother Aaron had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, discovered when Aaron had tried to kill his and Alex's sixteen-year-old sister, Amber. Alex tells Meredith how he could not bear to stay with his family. Alex and Meredith perform an emergent surgery on a young boy by themselves during the night shift, dealing with the angry fallout from Stark (who would not answer his pager) but gaining the wordless approval of the Chief.
Alex is thrilled when Arizona returns from Africa and hopes she will come to work for the hospital again. When a shooter goes on a killing spree at a University nearby, patients are brought in, and Alex must operate with Stark on a young girl. When an infection in her leg threatens to shut down her entire body, Stark decides to cut off her leg. Arizona witnesses this, and after a desperate cry out from Alex, she begs the Chief to give her back her privileges, while Alex makes sure Stark does not touch the girl's leg.
Alex eventually gets over Izzie for good and falls for the new OBGYN attending, Lucy Fields, and she kisses him in episode 17. By the following episode, they seem to have started a relationship. When Alex is offered a job in Africa he tells Lucy but chooses to stay for her but when goes to tell her that he is staying she informs him that she took the job instead. Alex later finds out about Meredith sabotaging her Alzheimer's clinical trial with Derek and rats her out which ends with him getting evicted by Meredith from her house. Later that episode, Alex is at Joe's bar after losing a patient and Lucy walks in and asks him to make her stay. Partly drunk, he just tells her to "go to hell".
External links
- Grey's Anatomy at ABC.com