If you tuned in to Thursday night’s midseason premiere of “Scandal,” you might have been shocked to see a familiar face from ShondaLand: Robert Baker.
The actor, best known for his brief stint as surgical resident Charles Percy on “Grey’s Anatomy,” returned to Thursday nights as one of Olivia Pope’s (Kerry Washington) kidnappers.
But Baker is hardly the first actor to have appeared on multiple Shonda Rhimes series. In fact, Rhimes — responsible for hit shows “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How To Get Away With Murder” and the now-defunct “Private Practice” — is notorious for recycling actors with whom she enjoys working.
Here’s a look at which “Scandal” actors have had notable story arcs in other ShondaLand productions:
Scott Foley
Jake Ballard isn’t the first Foley character to sweep us off our feet. The dashing gent previously won our hearts over as the sickly Henry Burton in “Grey’s Anatomy.” Burton wed cardiac surgeon Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) for insurance reasons, though the two did eventually fall in love — before he died under Christina Yang’s (Sandra Oh) knife, though his face was covered so that she didn’t know it at the time.
Jeff Perry
Perry joined ShondaLand in Season 2 as Thatcher Grey, Meredith Grey’s estranged father. Though the two eventually reconcile — with Meredith even giving the former alcoholic part of her own liver — he left “Grey’s” to become White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene on “Scandal.”
Darby Stanchfield
The redheaded stunner is famous for her role as Abby Whelan in “Scandal,” but she also had a brief stint on “Private Practice” as Tess Milford, an expectant mother about to deliver triplets in 2009.
Katie Lowes
“Scandal” fans have fallen in love with the fugitive-turned-torturer Quinn Perkins, but she’s a familiar face to ShondaLand fans. She played an unnamed blood donor in Season 7 of “Grey’s Anatomy,” after a brief stint as Kendra Walker in “Private Practice,” a young mother desperate to get pregnant after her five-month-old son died from being forgotten in the back seat of the car.
Bellamy Young
She’s the woman we love to hate as first lady Mellie Grant, but ShondaLand fans may remember her from “Private Practice” (and its crossover episode with “Grey’s Anatomy”) as Kathy, a wife angry with her husband because he’s lost his sex drive.
George Newbern
Newbern has racked up the fans as lovable hitman Charlie on “Scandal,” but he first arrived at ShondaLand via “Grey’s Anatomy” as Stan Mercer, a kidney transplant recipient in Miranda Bailey’s (Chandra Wilson) domino surgery in Season 5 who is caught cheating on his wife and puts the surgery in jeopardy. Newbern appeared later in “Private Practice” as Dr. Brian Reynolds, an oncologist at St. Ambrose Hospital who consults on Dr. Addison Montgomery’s (Kate Walsh) ovarian cancer patient.
Joshua Malina
Before landing a cushy starring role in “Scandal” as United States Attorney General David Rosen, he previously had minor gigs in “Grey’s” as Seth Hammer, a guy who must provide his wife with a fecal transplant after she orders medications off the Web and they wipe out her immune system, and as Jason in “Private Practice,” a father who wants to euthanize his sick daughter.
Paul Adelstein
Before he was Leo Bergen, the conniving Republican campaign consultant to Sally Langston (Kate Burton), Adelstein had a starring role in “Private Practice” (and “Grey’s Anatomy,” thanks to a few crossover episodes) as Cooper Freedman, a pediatrician at Seaside Health and Wellness.
Liza Weil
While Weil now stars as Bonnie Winterbottom on “How To Get Away With Murder,” she got her start in Shondaland as Alison Clark, a former rower in Izzie’s (Katherine Heigl) chemotherapy group who succumbed to cancer in Season 5. She later appeared in “Private Practice” as Andi, a young woman suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder, then again as Amanda Tanner in “Scandal,” a pregnant White House intern who accuses the President of being the father before being murdered by a hitman.
Dan Bucatinsky
Before being unceremoniously shot to death by Jake Ballard as journalist James Novak — a role which won him an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2013 — Bucatinsky appeared in one episode of “Grey’s” as the husband of an opera singer who is afraid of losing his voice. Bucatinsky also wrote 36 episodes of the medical drama and served as a consulting producer for one.
Kate Burton
While “Scandal” fans were more than happy to get rid of the crazy Vice President Sally Langston, that role couldn’t begin to compare to her stint as Meredith’s mother, Ellis Grey — a brilliant surgeon crippled by early-onset Alzheimer’s who verbally abuses her daughter at every chance.
Debra Mooney
The accomplished actress made a brief appearance in the fourth episode of “Private Practice” as Sylvie, an elderly woman whose fiancé keeps passing out. She returned to “Grey’s Anatony” as Owen Hunt’s mother for two episodes in 2009, before landing the role of Verna Thornton, a Supreme Court Justice murdered by President Fitz Grant (Tony Goldwyn) on the first season of “Scandal.”
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