Pompeo discovered "Grey's Anatomy" after an extended period of doing nothing in the acting profession. Her agent suggested she audition amongst other projects. While casting actresses for the part of Meredith Grey, series' creator Shonda Rhimes said: "I kept saying we need a girl like that girl from Moonlight Mile, and after a while, they were like, 'We think we can get that girl from Moonlight Mile.' I spent time with her and got to know her, and then we started casting for the men." She reported that Grey was not an easy role to cast because of the strong verbal possibilities. Rhimes was informed that the actress in question was Pompeo, who had a deal in place with ABC, having previously tested for a pilot on the network. It has been speculated that Pompeo was the first character to be cast, but when asked, she said she did not know of this. When asked of how she created Pompeo's character, Rhimes said: