Grey's Anatomy alums Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl to reunite onscreen for first time in 13 YEARS for Variety's Actors on Actors series

Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl will reunite for the first time since the Firefly Lane star left Grey’s Anatomy in 2010.

Variety pairs together actors to engage in intimate one-on-one conversations about their careers and lives twice a year.

Pompeo, 53, and Heigl, 43, will be part of the series’ upcoming 18th season.

Last year, Pompeo came to her former co-star’s defense in remarks on her Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo podcast.

In 2009, Heigl appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and said:  ‘I’m gonna keep saying this ’cause I hope it embarrasses them,’ adding that her typical work day was 17 hours and that it was ‘cruel and mean.’

Reunion: Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl will reunite for the first time since the Firefly Lane star left Grey’s Anatomy in 2010

Firefly Lane: Variety pairs together actors to engage in intimate one-on-one conversations about their careers and lives twice a year. Ellen, 53, and Katherine, 43, will be part of the series’ upcoming 18th season

‘I remember Heigl said something on a talk show about the insane hours we were working and she was 100% right,’ Ellen said to her Grey’s Anatomy friend co-star, Kate Walsh.

She continued: ‘Had she said that today, she’d be a complete hero. But she’s ahead of her time, made a statement about our crazy hours and of course, let’s slam a woman and call her ungrateful.’

Pompeo — who exited the series last year — added that Heigl speaking out about their work hours was ‘100% honest’ and was ‘absolutely correct’ about it all.

‘And she was f***ing ballsy for saying it,’ Pompeo said. ‘And she was telling the truth. She wasn’t lying.’

Heigl was blasted as being difficult to work with when she departed the long running medical drama.

She’s maintained that she was simply misunderstood, telling the Washington Post: ‘I may have said a couple of things you didn’t like, but then that escalated to ‘she’s ungrateful,’ then that escalated to ‘she’s difficult,’ and that escalated to ‘she’s unprofessional.”

‘What is your definition of difficult? Somebody with an opinion that you don’t like? Now, I’m 42, and that s**t pisses me off,’ she added.

While playing the role of Dr. Izzie Stephens in Grey’s Anatomy, the actress prompted outrage when she refused to put herself forward for an Emmy Award in 2008, claiming that she was not ‘given the material to warrant a nomination.’

Old news: In 2009, Heigl appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and said: ‘I’m gonna keep saying this ’cause I hope it embarrasses them,’ adding that her typical work day was 17 hours and that it was ‘cruel and mean’

Solidarity: Last year, Pompeo came to Heigl’s defense in remarks on her Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo podcast

Friends: ‘I remember Heigl said something on a talk show about the insane hours we were working and she was 100% right,’ Pomeo said to her Grey’s Anatomy friend co-star, Kate Walsh; Heigl seen in 2018

She continued: ‘Had she said that today, she’d be a complete hero. But she’s ahead of her time, made a statement about our crazy hours and of course, let’s slam a woman and call her ungrateful’; Pompeo seen in February

And then, she made her now infamous statement to Letterman, saying: ‘Our first day back was Wednesday and it was — I’m going to keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them — a 17-hour day, which I think is cruel and mean,’ she said.

In 2015, her anxiety had become so extreme that she felt like she would ‘rather be dead’ — and she asked her family to help her seek professional help to deal with her mental health issues.

‘I asked my mom and my husband to find me somewhere to go that could help me because I felt like I would rather be dead. I didn’t realize how much anxiety I was living with until I got so bad that I had to really seek help.

‘You can do a lot of inner soul work, but I’m a big fan of Zoloft,’ Heigl said.

Her husband, the musician Josh Kelley said that if Heigl had said the things she said then, in today’s climate, she’d be considered, ‘a hero.’