There’s a new name to add to the “Shondaland sisterhood”: Jaina Lee Ortiz, who stars in the new “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff “Station 19,” is joining the ranks of Ellen Pompeo, Kerry Washington and Viola Davis. Ortiz plays Andrea Herrera, a first responder in the fire department near “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Seattle Grace hospital — which means she’ll make her debut on March 1, introduced first on “Grey’s” and then taking center stage in “Station 19,” which will run for 10 episodes, starting on March 22.
“Just to be part of TGIT is super exciting in itself. I can’t even believe in it,” she says. “That I got to work with Ellen Pompeo was like an actor’s lottery ticket. I felt super proud and grateful and honored.”
Here, Ortiz tells Variety what it means to her to join the Shondaland sisterhood, how she trained for the role (yes, she does her own stunts), and the one piece of advice Washington offered her.
Fun fact about Shane’s ‘possessed by the devil sketch: the other woman is played by Shane’s fiancee, actress Gabriella Ortiz. The other man is portrayed by Tim De la Motte, who has worked with Shane before. Watch “Haunted House” video below.
Get ready to see more of Shane: he stars in the upcoming horror/thriller movie The Lighthouse with Danny Glover. (It’s directed by Danny’s brother Martin Glover.) And Jaina is scheduled to appear on the big screen next in the thriller Righteous Thieves, which is about a crew of thieves hired to steal back artwork plundered by Nazis during World War II.
