George O'Malley

George O'Malley is a fictional character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, and was portrayed by actor T. R. Knight from 2005 to 2009. Introduced as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, O'Malley worked his way up to resident level, while his relationships with his colleagues Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) formed a focal point of the series. O'Malley married and divorced Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), and also entertained romantic correlations with Meredith, Izzie Stevens, and Olivia Harper (Sarah Utterback).

Knight auditioned for the show, expecting a one-season run. In 2007, Knight's co-star Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke) insulted him with a homophobic slur, which resulted in the termination of Washington's Grey's Anatomy contract. In 2009, after the conclusion of the fifth season, it was confirmed that Knight would not be returning for the show's sixth season. The actor stated the reason for his departure was due to a "breakdown in communication" with Rhimes, his character's lack of screen time, as well as his decision to come out as openly gay. Knight received generally positive reviews for his performance as O'Malley, and garnered a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. Despite this, his death received mixed feedback.