Entertainment
Grey’s Anatomy casts Robert I. Mesa as first Indigenous doctor as intern James Chee becomes recurring character
Grey’s Anatomy has its first Indigenous doctor after Robert I. Mesa was promoted from a recurring guest star to a recurring cast member.
The actor made his debut as intern James Chee on the ABC medical drama in the third episode of season 17, and now viewers will be seeing a lot more of him on the show.
Viewers will remember that his character was introduced as part of the new class of interns at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, embarking on their careers as doctors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his first episode, Chee was hazed by neurosurgeon Tom Koracick (Greg Germann), and forced to do data entry — only to discover that the reason it wasn’t working was that all of the patients had died of COVID.
He will be featured in several more episodes this season, and will next appear in the episode airing on April 15.
Robert is a Navajo/Soboba actor who previously played Tecumseh in the Leonardo DiCaprio-produced The Men Who Built America: The Frontiersman on the History Channel.
In early 2020, he performed in Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Manhatta, which was the first Yale Repertory Theatre production of a play written by a Native playwright.
When he first landed the role as James in November 2020, he gushed: ‘I’m so excited to bring this Indigenous character to life on Grey’s Anatomy @greysabc.’
He then added: ‘Thank you all so much for all the love, support, and post sharing you’ve shown me in the past 24 hours.
‘It means the world to me to represent my Indigenous Peoples on Grey’s Anatomy. Shout out to my tribes, the Navajo Nation and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians.’
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