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Thursday character profile: Alex Karev
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Name: Alex Karev
Played By: Justin Chambers
Debut Episode: Season One, Episode One: "A Hard Day's Night"
Occupation: Surgical Resident at Seattle Grace Hospital
Family: Alex had a troubled upbringing by his mother and abusive father.
Romantic History: At the beginning of the series, Alex made no secret of the fact that he was a callous womanizer, regularly having one night stands with nurses and girls he met at the Emerald City Bar. But when he began to feel attracted to his fellow intern Izzie Stevens, he knew his feelings were running deeper than usual. Despite his natural inclination to avoid emotional intimacy, Alex purused a relationship with Izzie, then ruined things by carelessly hooking up with an old conquest, Nurse Olivia.
After his breakup with Izzie, Alex returned to his old habits. But things changed when he grew attached to a mysterious patient he'd rescued from the wreckage of a ferry accident. The woman suffered from total amnesia, and had to have her face completely reconstructed due to her injuries. She was also pregnant. Alex felt an instant connection to the woman, despite knowing nothing about her. He helped her pick out a new face, and a new name, Ava.
Ava was as much in love with Alex as he was with her, but they never addressed their complicated feelings. Alex was torn between his deep feelings for Ava and his attraction to his boss, Dr. Addison Montgomery. Alex slept with Addison, and hurt her feelings by brushing her off as just another one-night stand. Addison decided to leave town, but before she left she made a point of telling Alex that he needed to act on his feelings for Ava. Unfortunately, this advice had come too late. Ava had already regained her memory and revealed to Alex that her real name was Rebecca Pope, and that she was married but had been attempting to leave her husband the day of the ferry crash. Rebecca's husband was contacted and arrived at the hospital to pick her and their newborn baby up. But before leaving, Rebecca confessed her love to Alex and asked him to give her a reason to stay with him. Alex told her to go back to her family. After his wake-up call from Addison, Alex rushed back to the hospital, only to find that Rebecca had left with her husband.
Once again, Alex returned to his old habits and began a fling with naive intern Lexie Grey. But poor Lexie was left in the dust when Rebecca returned to be with Alex. Unfortunately, their new relationship didn't live up to the fantasy. Rebecca told Alex she was pregnant with his child, but when Izzie examined her, there was no baby. Izzie realized that Rebecca was suffering psychological problems due to all the trauma she suffered. Alex didn't want to hear it, but as Rebecca's behavior became more troubling, he eventually gave in and checked her into the hospital for long-term treatment.
Alex was devastated to lose Rebecca again, and spent the night crying in Izzie's arms. Afterwards, he was embarrassed by his display of emotion and tried to push Izzie away. But she refused to leave him alone, and eventually they found themselves back together, in a true committed relationship for the first time. However, their love was put to the ultimate test when Izzie developed a nearly incurable form of cancer. Alex surprised everyone, most of all himself, by standing by Izzie through her treatments. When it looked like all hope was lost, Alex decided to marry her. At the end of season five, Alex was left waiting to see if his new wife's life could be saved.
Friendships: Alex has always fancied himself to be a lone wolf, and therefore has resisted forming close friendships with his fellow doctors. He's always been especially antagonistic towards George O'Malley. But his need to play the tough guy hasn't stopped him from sharing a certain kinship with Meredith Grey, who suffered through some of the same childhood hardships as he did. Alex even asked Meredith to be his best man at his wedding.
Career Milestones: Alex has always been an intensely committed surgeon, but his caustic personality has occasionally gotten in the way of his career. He initially expressed a desire to specialize in plastic surgery, but failed to make a mentor out of renowned plastic surgeon Mark Sloan. After a blatant display of disrespect towards neo-natal surgeon Addison Montgomery, Alex found himself assigned exclusively to her service for as long as she saw fit. To his own surprise, Alex discovered a natural gift for working with pregnant women and babies, culminating with his rescue of Rebecca and his care for her baby. After Addison left the hospital, Alex seemed to shy away from this specialty, but has made more progress as a surgeon. When Cristina Yang had to forfeit the right to perform the first solo surgery of their class, she picked Alex as her replacement.
Memorable Moments:
Season One, Episode Six, "If Tomorrow Never Comes": Alex learns a lesson in bedside manner from a patient with an enormous tumor.
Season One, Episode Nine "Who's Zoomin' Who?": Alex is discovered to be the source of the syphilis outbreak that's spread throughout the hospital staff- and takes a pounding from George O'Malley.
Seaon Two, Episode Seven "Something To Talk About": Alex makes up for failing to kiss Izzie on their first date by laying a big, surprise smooch on her in the middle of Emerald City Bar.
Seaon Three, Episode 19 "My Favorite Mistake": Alex helps the mystery patient he rescued from the wreckage of a ferry accident pick out a new name and a new face.
Season Five, Episode 10 "All By Myself": Alex tells Izzie he loves her for the first time right before performing his first solo surgery.
Check back Tuesdays and Thursdays for more 'Grey's Anatomy' character profiles. In the meantime, catch up on our profiles of Meredith Grey, Derek Shepherd, Cristina Yang, and Izzie Stevens.
Photos: ABC
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