A lot of people that are given the role of a popular character and make it work aren’t really like that character in real life no matter how convincing they are. Justin Chambers however is very similar to the character Alex Karev in a few ways. The Grey’s Anatomy star has managed to remain as close to his real-life persona as possible with just a few obvious changes made for the show. A lot of times stepping into a character will, for any actor, be like putting on a mask that they can take off at the end of the show as they become someone completely different. There are several people however that bring their own love of life and their own attitude to their parts and make it work without a hitch. The idea of being able to be yourself is kind of hard to do in the acting industry but for some it’s not all that tough of a transition since their characters are more down to earth and capable of adapting to any given situation. Justin’s character, Alex, is one of those roles that has allowed the actor to just lay back and be himself, and it’s turned out pretty well to this point.
Both Justin and his character love kids.
Justin has five kids ranging in age from 15 to 22, so it’s kind of obvious that he’s a family man. His character professes to hate children but shows a very tender side towards them on the show. As a pediatric surgeon Alex kind of has to have an affinity for kids, but that’s a strange thing to develop since for much of his time on the show he’s been one of the least favorite people in the hospital due to his attitude. He tends to be way too brusque with people and generally rubs everyone the wrong way. It was kind of a surprise when he took to kids so well, but as it happens this is just a part of Justin that has occurred naturally.
Aside from this, Justin is pretty much opposite of his character.
On the outside Justin is a kind and warm person which is pretty opposite of his character until people get to know him. He’s also married, which is unlike his character, who is single starting out until he finally meets someone that the cares enough about to change. It’s not uncommon that actors will take up opposing roles that stretch the boundaries of their skills while still allowing them to showcase just who they are and what they value. If people only played the roles that corresponded with their personality and sense of character then things in Hollywood might get very boring very quickly. Of course thinking about the drama that goes on when the screens are off it’s fair to say that some people would still manage to create enough buzz that it wouldn’t be all that different. Justin however seems to be a genuinely nice guy outside of his role and while he shares some similarities with his character he is quite different.
He tried to do a spinoff of Grey’s Anatomy.
The show was titled Private Practice but it didn’t go past 2009 since it didn’t perform all that well. It would seem that Alex needs a supporting cast to really shine on TV and is not quite ready to step out on his own just yet. Spinoffs are, unfortunately, notorious for having a fairly even failure to success ratio and there are a few reasons why this might be so. For one, spinoffs are depending on the success of the original show and the fact that people still want to watch them, or will remember them fondly if they decide to follow the spinoff. If a show was cancelled and wasn’t particularly liked then the spinoff has already got a lot working against it and has a severe uphill battle to climb. If the show was popular the situation is still kind of tough because pulling away from the main show to watch the story of an individual cast member, or a few of them that have parted from the original group, is not a guaranteed hit. Spinoffs are hard to get into largely because they’re taking a piece of the whole and demanding the same kind of attention that was given to the original without being able to prove right away that they’re going to be any good on their own.
Justin has come a long way from being the guy on the show that people just don’t like and has proven off screen that while he does share some similarities with his character he’s still a very different guy than Alex. Thankfully he’s able to step into the role and back out of it on a regular basis, which is good for fans and great for his family.
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