A Grey’s Anatomy actor who hails from Dublin admitted to nearly quitting acting before landing a huge Hollywood role.
Richard Flood is an Irish actor best known for the character Tommy McConnel in Crossing Lines; James McKay in Red Rock and Ford in Shameless.
But recently, the Dubliner has made it over in the States as he is currently a main character on a hit ABC show.
Flood is working alongside the top talent in America as he plays McWidow, AKA Dr. Cormac Hayes on Grey's Anatomy.
Speaking to The Sunday Independent about his new life in Los Angeles, the actor said: “It’s great but it’s a different world. I’ve always found it quite tough.”
“If you’re working, people love you and if you’re not, they don’t care.
“There are so many homeless people now and there’s a juxtaposition of people who have massive wealth, and then people who can’t treat their mental health issues and live in extreme poverty.”
The 38-year-old opened up about the difficult times in his career, he said: “It got so bad I was thinking of packing it in.
“I was thinking, ‘Enough is enough.’”
“There are big egos in this business. I find the biggest egos are the actors who are nearly famous or a little bit famous.
“The top guys are more secure.”
Recalling the moment he landed the role, Richard said: “I flew out and landed on the Friday and I had an email from my agent saying ‘Will you meet the Grey’s Anatomy people on Tuesday?’”
He met with showrunner Krista Vernoff and actress Ellen Pompeo, who plays Dr Meredith Grey in the show, the Irish actor was offered the part.
Richard travelled back to his wife Gabriella before starting his new acting job.
He said: “I was just feeling such relief on that journey. I’ve had to take that flight when things haven’t worked out so I was just really grateful that this time they had.”
Grey’s Anatomy airs on RTE 2 every Tuesday at 9.40pm.
