Percy Fawcett Lieutenant Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett DSO ( 18 August 1867 -- during or after 1925 ) was a British geographer , artillery officer , cartographer , archaeologist and explorer of South America . Along with his eldest son , Fawcett disappeared in 1925 during an expedition to find `` Z '' -- his name for an ancient lost city , which he and others believed to exist and to be the remains of El Dorado , in the jungles of Brazil . Contents ( hide ) 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Early expeditions 1.3 Final expedition 1.3. 1 Dead Horse Camp 2 Posthumous controversy and speculations 2.1 Rumours and unverified reports 2.2 Villas - Bôas story 2.3 Fawcett 's Bones 2.4 Russian documentary 2.5 Commune in the jungle 2.6 Grann 's Lost City of Z 3 Works 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links Biography ( edit ) Early life ( edit ) Percy Fawcett was born on 18 August 1867 in Torquay , Devon , England , to Edward Boyd Fawcett and Myra Elizabeth ( née MacDougall ) . He received his education at Newton Abbot Proprietary College along with Bertram Fletcher Robinson . Percy Fawcett 's India - born father was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society ( RGS ) . His elder brother Edward Douglas Fawcett ( 1866 -- 1960 ) was a mountain climber , Eastern occultist and author of philosophical books and popular adventure novels . Fawcett attended the Royal Military Academy , Woolwich as a cadet , being commissioned as a lieutenant of the Royal Artillery on 24 July 1886 . On 13 January 1896 he was appointed adjutant of the 1st Cornwall ( Duke of Cornwall 's ) Artillery Volunteers , and was promoted to captain on 15 June 1897 . He later served in Trincomalee , Ceylon , where he also met his future wife Nina Agnes Paterson , whom he married in January 1901 after having previously ended their engagement . They had two sons , Jack ( born 1903 ) and Brian ( 1906 -- 1984 ) , and one daughter , Joan ( 1910 -- 2005 ) . He joined the RGS himself in 1901 in order to study surveying and mapmaking . Later , he worked for the British Secret Service in North Africa while pursuing the surveyor 's craft . He served for the war office on Spike Island , County Cork from 1903 to 1906 , where he was promoted to major on 11 January 1905 . He became friends with authors H. Rider Haggard and Arthur Conan Doyle ; the latter used Fawcett 's Amazonian field reports as an inspiration for his novel The Lost World . Early expeditions ( edit ) Fawcett 's first expedition to South America was in 1906 ( being seconded for service there on 2 May ) when at the age of 39 he travelled to Brazil to map a jungle area at the border of Brazil and Bolivia at the behest of the Royal Geographical Society . The Society had been commissioned to map the area as a third party unbiased by local national interests . He arrived in La Paz , Bolivia in June . Whilst on the expedition in 1907 , Fawcett claimed to have seen and shot a 62 foot long giant anaconda , a claim for which he was ridiculed by scientists . He reported other mysterious animals unknown to zoology , such as a small cat - like dog about the size of a foxhound , which he claimed to have seen twice , or the giant Apazauca spider which was said to have poisoned a number of locals . Fawcett made seven expeditions between 1906 and 1924 . He was mostly amicable with the locals through gifts , patience and courteous behaviour . In 1908 , he traced the source of the Rio Verde ( Brazil ) and in 1910 made a journey to Heath River ( on the border between Peru and Bolivia ) to find its source , having retired from the British army on 19 January . After a 1913 expedition , he supposedly claimed to have seen dogs with double noses . These may have been Double - nosed Andean tiger hounds . Based on documentary research , Fawcett had by 1914 formulated ideas about a `` lost city '' he named `` Z '' somewhere in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil . He theorized that a complex civilization once existed in the Amazon region and that isolated ruins may have survived . Fawcett also found a document known as Manuscript 512 ( pt ) , written after explorations made in the sertão of the state of Bahia , and housed at the National Library of Rio de Janeiro . It is believed to be by Portuguese bandeirante João da Silva Guimarães ( pt ) , who wrote that in 1753 he 'd discovered the ruins of an ancient city that contained arches , a statue , and a temple with hieroglyphics ; the city is described in great detail without providing a specific location . This city became a secondary destination for Fawcett , after `` Z '' . ( See Fawcett 's own book Exploration Fawcett . ) At the beginning of the First World War Fawcett returned to Britain to serve with the Army as a Reserve Officer in the Royal Artillery , volunteering for duty in Flanders , and commanding an artillery brigade despite the fact that he was nearly fifty years of age . He was promoted from major to lieutenant - colonel on 1 March 1918 , and received three mentions in despatches from Douglas Haig , in November 1916 , November 1917 , and November 1918 , and was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order in June 1917 . After the war Fawcett returned to Brazil to study local wildlife and archaeology . In 1920 , he made a solo attempt to search for `` Z '' , but ended after suffering from a fever and shooting his pack animal . Final expedition ( edit ) In 1925 , with funding from a London - based group of financiers known as the Glove , Fawcett returned to Brazil with his eldest son Jack and Jack 's best and longtime friend , Raleigh Rimell , for an exploratory expedition to find `` Z '' . Fawcett left instructions stating that if the expedition did not return , no rescue expedition should be sent lest the rescuers suffer his fate . Fawcett was a man with years of experience travelling , and had brought equipment such as canned foods , powdered milk , guns , flares , a sextant , and a chronometer . His travel companions were both chosen for their health , ability and loyalty to each other ; Fawcett chose only two companions in order to travel lighter and with less notice to native tribes , as some were hostile towards outsiders . On 20 April 1925 his final expedition departed from Cuiabá . In addition to his two principal companions , Fawcett was accompanied by two Brazilian labourers , two horses , eight mules , and a pair of dogs . The last communication from the expedition was on 29 May 1925 when Fawcett wrote , in a letter to his wife delivered by a native runner , that he was ready to go into unexplored territory with only Jack and Raleigh . They were reported to be crossing the Upper Xingu , a southeastern tributary river of the River Amazon . The final letter , written from Dead Horse Camp , gave their location and was generally optimistic . Many people assumed that local Indians killed them , as several tribes were nearby at the time : the Kalapalos , the last tribe to have seen them , the Arumás , Suyás , and the Xavantes whose territory they were entering . The Kalapalo have an oral story of the arrival of three explorers which states that the three went east , and after five days the Kalapalo noticed that the group no longer made camp fires . The Kalapalo say that a very violent tribe most likely killed them . However , both of the younger men were lame and ill when last seen , and there is not any proof that they were murdered . It is plausible that they died of natural causes in the Brazilian jungle . In 1927 , a name - plate of Fawcett was found with an Indian tribe . In June 1933 , a theodolite compass belonging to Fawcett was found near the Baciary Indians of Mato Grosso by Colonel Aniceto Botelho . However , the name - plate was from Fawcett 's expedition five years earlier and had most likely been given as a gift to the chief of that Indian tribe . The compass was proved to have been left behind before he entered the jungle on his final journey . Dead Horse Camp ( edit ) Dead Horse Camp , or Fawcett 's camp , is one of the major camps that Fawcett made on his final journey . This encampment was his last known location . From Dead Horse Camp , Fawcett wrote to his wife about the hardships that he and his companions had faced , his coordinates , his doubts in Raleigh Rimmel , and of his plans for the near future . He concludes his message with , `` You need have no fear of any failure ... '' One question remaining about Dead Horse Camp concerns a discrepancy in the coordinates Fawcett gave for the camp . In the letter to his wife , he wrote : `` Here we are at Dead Horse Camp , latitude 11 degrees 43 ' South and longitude 54 degrees 35 ' West , the spot where my horse died in 1920 '' ( 11 ° 43 ′ S 54 ° 35 ′ W  /  11.717 ° S 54.583 ° W  / - 11.717 ; - 54.583 ) . However , in a report to the North American Newspaper Alliance he gave the coordinates as 13 ° 43 ′ S 54 ° 35 ′ W  /  13.717 ° S 54.583 ° W  / - 13.717 ; - 54.583 . The discrepancy may have been a typographical error . However , he may have intentionally concealed the location to prevent others from using his notes to find the lost city . It may have also been an attempt to dissuade any rescue attempts ; Fawcett had stated that if he disappeared , no rescue party should be sent because the danger was too great . Posthumous controversy and speculations ( edit ) Rumours and unverified reports ( edit ) During the ensuing decades , various groups mounted several rescue expeditions , without success . They heard only various rumours that could not be verified . In addition to reports that Fawcett had been killed by Indians or wild animals , there was a tale that Fawcett had lost his memory and lived out his life as the chief of a tribe of cannibals . While a fictitious tale estimated that 100 would - be-rescuers died on several expeditions attempting to discover Fawcett 's fate , the actual toll was only one - a sole man who ventured after him alone . One of the earliest expeditions was commanded by American explorer George Miller Dyott . In 1927 he claimed to have found evidence of Fawcett 's death at the hands of the Aloique Indians , but his story was unconvincing . From 1930 -- 31 , Aloha Wanderwell used her seaplane to try to land on the Amazon River in the Matto Grosso to find him . After an emergency landing and living with the Bororo Tribe for 6 weeks , Aloha and Walter Flew back to Brazil , with no luck . A 1951 expedition unearthed human bones that were found later to be unrelated to Fawcett or his companions . Villas - Bôas story ( edit ) Danish explorer Arne Falk - Rønne journeyed to the Mato Grosso during the 1960s . In a 1991 book , he wrote that he learned of Fawcett 's fate from Orlando Villas - Bôas , who had heard it from one of Fawcett 's murderers . Allegedly , Fawcett and his companions had a mishap on the river and lost most of the gifts they 'd brought along for the Indian tribes . Continuing without gifts was a serious breach of protocol ; since the expedition members were all more or less seriously ill at the time , the Kalapalo tribe they encountered decided to kill them . The bodies of Jack Fawcett and Raleigh Rimell were thrown into the river ; Colonel Fawcett , considered an old man and therefore distinguished , received a proper burial . Falk - Rønne visited the Kalapalo tribe and reported that one of the tribesmen confirmed Villas - Bôas 's story about how and why Fawcett had been killed . Fawcett 's bones ( edit ) In 1951 , Orlando Villas - Bôas , activist for indigenous peoples , supposedly received the actual remaining skeletal bones of Fawcett and had them analysed scientifically . The analysis allegedly confirmed the bones to be Fawcett 's , but his son Brian Fawcett ( 1906 -- 1984 ) refused to accept this . Villas - Bôas claimed that Brian was too interested in making money from books about his father 's disappearance . Later scientific analysis confirmed that the bones were not Fawcett 's . As of 1965 , the bones reportedly rested in a box in the flat of one of the Villas - Bôas brothers in São Paulo . In 1998 , English explorer Benedict Allen went to talk to the Kalapalo Indians , said by Villas - Bôas to have confessed to having killed the three Fawcett expedition members . An elder of the Kalapalo , Vajuvi , claimed during a filmed BBC interview with Allen that the bones found by Villas - Bôas some 45 years before were not really Fawcett 's . Vajuvi also denied that his tribe had any part in the Fawcetts ' disappearance . No conclusive evidence supports either statement . Russian documentary ( edit ) In 2003 , a Russian documentary film , `` Проклятье золота инков / Экспедиция Перси Фоссета в Амазонку '' ( The Curse of the Incas ' Gold / Expedition of Percy Fawcett to the Amazon ) , was released as a part of the television series `` Тайны века '' ( Mysteries of the Century ) . Among other things , the film emphasizes the recent expedition of Oleg Aliyev to the presumed approximate place of Fawcett 's last whereabouts and Aliyev 's findings , impressions and presumptions about Fawcett 's fate . Commune in the jungle ( edit ) On 21 March 2004 , the British newspaper The Observer reported that television director Misha Williams , who had studied Fawcett 's private papers , believed that Fawcett had not intended to return to Britain but rather meant to found a commune in the jungle based on theosophical principles and the worship of his son Jack . Williams explained his research in some detail in the preface to his play AmaZonia , first performed in April 2004 . Grann 's Lost city of Z ( edit ) Main article : The Lost City of Z ( book ) In 2005 , The New Yorker staff writer David Grann visited the Kalapalo tribe and reported that it had apparently preserved an oral history about Fawcett , among the first Europeans the tribe had ever seen . The oral account said that Fawcett and his party had stayed at their village and then left , heading eastward . The Kalapalos warned Fawcett and his companions that if they went that way they would be killed by the `` fierce Indians '' who occupied that territory , but Fawcett insisted on going . The Kalapalos observed smoke from the expedition 's campfire each evening for five days before it disappeared . The Kalapalos said they were sure the fierce Indians had killed them . The article also reports that a monumental civilisation known as Kuhikugu may have actually existed near where Fawcett was searching , as discovered recently by archaeologist Michael Heckenberger and others . Grann 's findings are further detailed in his book The Lost City of Z ( 2009 ) . Works ( edit ) Fawcett , Percy and Brian Fawcett ( 1953 ) , Exploration Fawcett , Phoenix Press ( 2001 reprint ) , ISBN 1 - 84212 - 468 - 4 Fawcett , Percy and Brian Fawcett ( 1953 ) , Lost Trails , Lost Cities , Funk & Wagnalls ASIN B0007DNCV4 Fawcett , Brian ( 1958 ) , Ruins in the Sky , Hutchinson of London In popular culture ( edit ) This article appears to contain trivial , minor , or unrelated references to popular culture . Please reorganize this content to explain the subject 's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances ; add references to reliable sources if possible , otherwise delete it . ( April 2017 ) Was the subject of an episode of Digging for the Truth . Arthur Conan Doyle based his Professor Challenger character partly on Fawcett , and stories of the `` Lost City of Z '' became the basis for his novel The Lost World . A contemporary reviewer of Evelyn Waugh 's novel A Handful of Dust suggested he may have derived the plot partly from Fawcett 's disappearance . The novel 's hero vanishes into the Brazilian jungle and is kept prisoner there . Fawcett has been proposed as a possible inspiration for Indiana Jones , the fictional archaeologist / adventurer . A fictionalised version of Fawcett aids Jones in the novel Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils . ) Fawcett was a prototype of Percy Foster , fictional explorer in the Russian - language novel The grave of Tame - Tung . There , Foster and his son became obsessed with riches of Indians and were killed by their former friend Raleigh Rimer ( based on Raleigh Rimmel ) to prevent pillaging . According to an article in Comics Scene No. 45 , Fawcett was the inspiration of Kent Allard , an alter ego of the Shadow . Director Pete Docter named Fawcett as one of the inspirations for the character Charles F. Muntz , the antagonist of the Pixar film Up . David Grann 's The Lost City of Z was optioned by Brad Pitt 's Plan B production company and Paramount Pictures . James Gray directed the film , which stars Charlie Hunnam as Fawcett and was released in April 2017 . The Cruise of the Condor ( 1933 ) , one of W.E. Johns ' `` Biggles '' stories , is inspired by Fawcett 's search for `` Z '' . Writers Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child mentioned in their books that Percy Fawcett was a great - great uncle of Aloysius Pendergast on his mother 's side . The plot of the first episode of the television programme Hooten & the Lady was about the search for Fawcett 's camp . In Hergé 's adventure of Tintin L'Oreille Cassée , Fawcett is believed to be the model for Ridgewell , an explorer disappeared for ten years who has become known as `` the white old man '' a member of the Arumbaya tribe . Peter Fleming 's book Brazilian Adventure is the story of his part in an expedition to find Fawcett . Fleming 's book was first published in 1933 . Peter was the brother of Ian who wrote the James Bond books . The 2017 Osprey Games Eurogame The Lost Expedition , designed by Peer Sylvester , with artwork by Garen Ewing , is based on Percy Fawcett 's expeditions . See also ( edit ) Amazon River Archaeology Explorers List of people who disappeared mysteriously Paititi Aloha Wanderwell Notes ( edit ) Jump up ^ Heckenberger , Michael J. ( 2009 ) . `` Lost cities of the Amazon '' . Scientific American . 301 ( 4 ) : 64 -- 71 . Jump up ^ `` E. Douglas Fawcett ( 1866 -- 1960 ) '' . Keverel Chess. 10 August 2011 . Archived from the original on 3 April 2012 . Jump up ^ `` Fawcett , E , Douglas '' . The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. 18 January 2017 . Jump up ^ `` No. 25615 '' . The London Gazette. 10 August 1886 . p. 3855 . Jump up ^ `` No. 26703 '' . The London Gazette. 24 January 1896 . p. 424 . Jump up ^ `` No. 26705 '' . The London Gazette. 31 January 1896 . p. 589 . Jump up ^ `` No. 26869 '' . The London Gazette. 2 July 1897 . p. 3635 . Jump up ^ `` No. 27792 '' . The London Gazette. 12 May 1905 . p. 3426 . Jump up ^ `` No. 27916 '' . The London Gazette. 25 May 1906 . p. 3657 . Jump up ^ Fawcett , P.H. and Fawcett , B. Exploration Fawcett ( 1953 ) Jump up ^ `` Apazauca spider '' . The Great Web of Percy Harrison Fawcett . Jump up ^ `` No. 28330 '' . The London Gazette. 18 January 1910 . p. 434 . Jump up ^ `` Double - nosed dog not to be sniffed at '' . BBC News . 10 August 2007 . ^ Jump up to : Grann , David ( 19 September 2005 ) . `` The Lost City of Z '' . The New Yorker . Retrieved 23 December 2016 . Jump up ^ `` No. 31120 '' . The London Gazette ( Supplement ) . 10 January 1919 . p. 674 . Jump up ^ `` No. 29890 '' . The London Gazette ( Supplement ) . 2 January 1917 . p. 208 . Jump up ^ `` No. 30421 '' . The London Gazette ( Supplement ) . 7 December 1917 . p. 12912 . Jump up ^ `` No. 31077 '' . The London Gazette ( Supplement ) . 17 December 1918 . p. 14926 . Jump up ^ `` No. 30111 '' . The London Gazette ( Supplement ) . 1 June 1917 . pp. 5468 -- 5470 . Jump up ^ The London Illustrated News , 22 June 1924 Jump up ^ Wallechinsky , David ; Wallace , Irving ( 1981 ) . `` History of the Search for Percy H. Fawcett , Part 2 '' . Trivia-Library.com . Jump up ^ Cummins , Geraldine ( March 1985 ) . The Fate of Colonel Fawcett . Health Research Books . p. 14 . ISBN 978 - 0 - 7873 - 0230 - 6 . Jump up ^ Basso , Ellen B. ( 22 July 2010 ) . The Last Cannibals : A South American Oral History . University of Texas Press . ISBN 978 - 0 - 292 - 79206 - 7 . ^ Jump up to : `` Colonel Fawcett 's Last Words '' . Colonel Percy Fawcett 's Search For the Lost city of Z . Archived from the original on 28 September 2010 . Retrieved 9 June 2011 . ^ Jump up to : `` Dead Horse Camp ( Fawcett 's Camp ) '' . The Great Web of Percy Harrison Fawcett . Retrieved 9 June 2011 . Jump up ^ `` The Continuing Chronicles of Colonel Fawcett '' . Retrieved 9 June 2011 . Jump up ^ Grann , David ( 2010 ) . The Lost City of Z : A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon . New York : Vintage Books . p. 273 . ISBN 978 - 1 - 4000 - 7845 - 5 . Jump up ^ Hemming , John ( 1 April 2017 ) . `` The Lost City of Z is a very long way from a true story and I should know '' . The Spectator . Jump up ^ Falk - Rønne , Arne ( 2017 - 03 - 16 ) . Dr. Klapperslange ( in Danish ) . Lindhardt og Ringhof . ISBN 9788711714096 . Jump up ^ The upper jaw provides the clearest possible evidence that these human remains were not those of Colonel Fawcett , whose spare upper denture is fortunately available for comparison . Royal Anthropological Institute ( London ) ( 1951 ) `` Report on the human remains from Brazil '' as quoted by Grann ( 2009 ) p. 253 Jump up ^ `` 1953 COL . FAWCETT PERU BOLIVIA BRAZIL SOUTH AMERICA LOST EXPEDITION EL DORADO '' . eBay . Retrieved 2017 - 07 - 21 . ^ Jump up to : Orcutt , Larry ( 2000 ) . `` Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett '' . Jump up ^ `` Vajuvi said that they were the bones of his grandfather , Mugikia . '' Grann ( 2009 ) pp. 252 -- 253 Jump up ^ `` Тайны века . Проклятие золота инков . Экспедиция Перси Фоссета в Амазонку . '' ( Secrets of the century . The curse of the Inca gold . Expedition of Percy Fosset to the Amazon . ) . Filmix.net ( in Russian ) . 2011 . Jump up ^ Thorpe , Vanessa ( 21 March 2004 ) . `` Veil lifts on jungle mystery of the Colonel who vanished '' . The Observer . Jump up ^ Williams , Misha . AmaZonia ( PDF ) . Jump up ^ For further info see the last chapter of Grann 's book The Lost City of Z and Charles Mann 's book 1491 : New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus . Jump up ^ Grann , David ( 2009 ) The Lost City of Z : A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon . Doubleday , New York , pages 8 and 95 , ISBN 978 - 0 - 385 - 51353 - 1 Jump up ^ `` The Times '' . 4 September 1934 . p. 7 . Jump up ^ Neither George Lucas nor Steven Spielberg -- co-creators of the successful concept and franchise -- have indicated that any specific individual inspired their character , other than the generic stock heroes popularised in the matinée serials and pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s they admired and wished to modernise , or later exotic - culture adventure films such as 1954 's Secret of the Incas . Jump up ^ `` Making Raiders of the Lost Ark '' . Raiders News . 23 September 2003 . Archived from the original on 7 December 2003 . Retrieved 14 October 2008 . Jump up ^ MacGregor , Rob ( November 1991 ) . Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils . Bantam Books . ISBN 978 - 0 - 553 - 29035 - 6 . Jump up ^ `` The Lost Expedition '' . BoardGameGeek . Retrieved 4 July 2017 . References ( edit ) Falk - Rønne , Arne. ( 1991 ) . Klodens Forunderlige Mysterier . Roth Forlag . Fleming , Peter . ( 1933 ) Brazilian Adventure , Charles Scribner 's Sons ISBN 0 - 87477 - 246 - X Grann , David ( 2009 ) The Lost City of Z : A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon ISBN 978 - 0 - 385 - 51353 - 1 Leal , Hermes ( 1996 ) , Enigma do Coronel Fawcett , o verdadeiro Indiana Jones ( Colonel Fawcett : The Real - Life Indiana Jones ; Published in Portuguese ) La Gazette des Français du Paraguay , Percy Fawcett - Un monument de l'Exploration et de l'Aventure en Amérique Latine - Expédition du Rio Verde - bilingue français espagnol - numéro 6 , Année 1 , Asuncion Paraguay . Scriblerius , C.S. ( 2015 ) , `` Percyfaw Code , the secret dossier '' Published by Amazon.com . External links ( edit ) Forgotten Travellers : The Hunt for Colonel Fawcett Essay on Lt. - Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett Virtual Exploration Society -- Colonel Percy Fawcett Colonel Fawcett Mad Dreams in the Amazon Essay on Fawcett from The New York Review of Books Lost in the Amazon : The Enigma of Col. Percy Fawcett PBS Secrets of the Dead documentary B. Fletcher Robinson & ' The Lost World ' by Paul Spiring The Lost City of Z is a Long Way From a True Story and I Should Know by John Hemming in The Spectator VIAF : 61597470 LCCN : n81102852 ISNI : 0000 0000 8140 5771 GND : 138720967 SUDOC : 03093544X BNF : cb12225182v ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Percy_Fawcett&oldid=800129901 '' Categories : 1867 births English archaeologists English explorers Explorers of Amazonia Lost explorers Missing people People from Torquay Professor Challenger Royal Artillery officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order 1920s missing person cases Hidden categories : Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y CS1 Danish - language sources ( da ) CS1 Russian - language sources ( ru ) Use British English from July 2011 Use dmy dates from July 2011 Articles with hCards Interlanguage link template link number Articles with trivia sections from April 2017 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Year of death missing Year of death unknown Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Български Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands Norsk Polski Português Русский Slovenčina Suomi Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 11 September 2017 , at 17 : 41 . 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Meredith Grey Meredith Grey , M.D. 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 is portrayed by actress Ellen Pompeo . Meredith is the series ' protagonist , and was introduced as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital ( later Seattle Grace - Mercy West , and afterwards Grey Sloan Memorial ) , eventually obtaining the position of a resident , and later the position of an attending , and in 2015 , attaining the Chief of General Surgery position . As the daughter of world - renowned surgeon Ellis Grey , Meredith struggles with the everyday life of being in a competitive profession , maintaining the relationship with her one - night stand and eventual husband Derek Shepherd ( deceased ) , her motherhood , and her friendships with her colleagues . Meredith is the narrator of the show and serves as the focal point for most episodes . Pompeo 's connection with Patrick Dempsey ( Derek Shepherd ) is acclaimed as a high point of the series . Rhimes has characterized Meredith as not believing in good or bad , but instead doing what she thinks is right . Grey has been positively received by television critics , with Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times referring to her as `` the heroine of Grey 's Anatomy '' . News of Pompeo leaving arose when it was made clear that her contract ended after the eighth season , and whether or not she would return to the series after her contract expires has been the centre of media speculation ever since . In 2016 , Pompeo re-negotiated her contract and signed up for the thirteenth season of the show . Pompeo 's performance has been well received throughout the show and the character has gained widespread popularity worldwide . Pompeo has been nominated for multiple awards for her portrayal of the character in the long running ABC medical drama including Satellite Award for Best Actress and multiple nominations at the People 's Choice Awards for Best Actress winning at 39th People 's Choice Awards in 2013 and again in 2015 at 41st People 's Choice Awards , Pompeo has also received a Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series nomination at the 64th Golden Globe Awards . Contents ( hide ) 1 Storylines and Characteristics 2 Development 2.1 Casting and creation 2.2 Characterization 3 Reception 3.1 Reviews 3.2 Awards 4 References 5 External links Storylines and characteristics ( edit ) Dr. Meredith Grey is the daughter of world - renowned surgeon Ellis Grey , and grew up in her shadow . Ellis was a deeply flawed , emotionally and verbally abusive , neglectful mother towards her . Meredith is described as a `` dark and twisty , '' damaged person who sees the world in varying shades of gray morality . Because of this , she is an emotionally complex person capable of empathizing with others when they 're at their lowest points , and a sensitive observer of the people around her . Meredith is a graduate of Dartmouth College and nearly did not attend med school due to conflicts with her mother . Meredith was directionless after obtaining her undergrad and had plans to sleep and party her way through Europe . After a month abroad , Meredith was called back to care for Ellis , who had developed early - onset Alzheimer 's disease , and Meredith obtained her M.D. The night before Meredith 's internship begins , she has a one - night stand with Derek Shepherd ( Patrick Dempsey ) , a stranger she meets at a bar . She discovers the next day that he is the recently - hired attending and new head of neurosurgery at her new workplace , Seattle Grace Hospital . Meredith is assigned to work under resident Miranda Bailey ( Chandra Wilson ) , and befriends her fellow interns , George O'Malley ( T.R. Knight ) , Izzie Stevens ( Katherine Heigl ) , Cristina Yang ( Sandra Oh ) and Alex Karev ( Justin Chambers ) . She is particularly close with Cristina Yang , who becomes her best friend and `` person '' . Though she initially thinks poorly of him , Alex Karev also evolves into Meredith 's `` person '' and the two assume a sibling-esque familial relationship . Meredith has a conflicted relationship with Richard Webber ( James Pickens Jr . ) , the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace . Richard was very close to Ellis when Meredith was a child , which inclines him to save or mentor Grey and make exceptions for her . Meredith has a habit of `` collecting strays '' , allowing her friends and coworkers to live in the house her mother left her and become her pseudo-family . Meredith is endlessly loyal to those she deems her family , and bends traditional morality as needed in order to keep them safe . Having grown up in a hospital , Meredith shows immense natural talent . She possesses a steadfast , calm ease during medical procedures and emergencies , and is a natural observer of people . She exhibits a knack for catching subtle hints and accurately determining difficult - to - catch diagnoses . Her placid , non-judgmental bedside manner often causes people to open up and trust her . Her surgical skills are solidly impressive and she shows a talent and patience for medical research trials and dealing with psychologically damaged patients . Meredith resists Derek 's advances throughout her internship , but is eventually charmed into starting a relationship with him despite misgivings about an intern dating an attending . She is therefore shocked by the arrival of Addison Montgomery ( Kate Walsh ) , Derek 's wife , unaware that he was married . Derek struggles to choose between the two , but ultimately returns to Addison , despite Meredith begging to be chosen instead . Meredith is devastated and turns to multiple , self - destructive means of coping . Initially she falls on old habits of self - medicating with tequila and sex , and buys a dog . She also tries to resolve some issues by searching for her long - absent father , Thatcher . She learns that her father , who left when she was five and she has not seen since , remarried and had two more daughters . The two do not become close , but Grey becomes fond of her stepmother . Meredith spirals further when Ellis is admitted to the hospital , revealing Ellis ' diagnosis of early - onset Alzheimer 's and her verbally abusive tendencies . Meredith self - destructive behavior increases when she saves a patient with a bomb in their chest by impulsively inserting her hand to hold it until the bomb squad can remove it . Mereidth has a series of one - night stands , including one with George , who is in love with her . When she cries in the middle of their encounter , their friendship temporarily ends . Meredith swears off her behavior , agrees to be friends only with Shepherd , and embarks on a relationship with veterinarian Finn Dandridge ( Chris O'Donnell ) . Derek regrets his decision to return to his wife and Meredith must decide whether to continue a relationship with Finn , or allow Derek a second chance . When Ellis experiences a rare , completely lucid day , and expresses her immense disappointment at how ordinary Meredith has turned out to be , she becomes depressed and possibly suicidal . During a ferryboat accident , Meredith is knocked into the water and chooses to give up and drown , rather than fight and swim . She flatlines at the hospital , and awakens in an `` afterlife '' , where she interacts with deceased former acquaintances . Ellis dies in the interim , and Meredith meets with her mother , who tells her that she is anything but ordinary . She is subsequently resuscitated at the insistence of Cristina . Derek distances himself from Meredith as the result of her self recklessness , prompting her to seek therapy to address her problems . Meredith sees a therapist , Dr. Wyatt ( Amy Madigan ) , to seek happiness and begins to successfully tackle her issues . Meredith found her mother 's diaries , dredging up old memories and secrets for her to work through . Meanwhile , Meredith nearly fails her intern exam after a drunken Thatcher publicly blames Meredith for the death of his wife , Susan , a distraught Grey sits through her entire test without writing a single answer . Dr. Webber gives her a second chance , saving her from destroying her career . After Meredith is promoted to a resident , her younger half - sister Lexie Grey ( Chyler Leigh ) begins working at Seattle Grace as an intern . Meredith initially rejects Lexie 's attempts to form a relationship , but slowly softens towards her . The sisters are very different people with different childhoods . Lexie had an idealistic family life and often has difficulty understanding her much darker sister , who does not have the same positive associations with family as Lexie . She later initiates a neurosurgical clinical trial , enlisting Derek as a consulting neurosurgeon . The trial fails repeatedly , but the final patient they treat survives , which leads them to reuniting and moving in together . Their relationship is healthier than before , but still experiences snags as the two attempt to understand each other and navigate what they now look on as a permanent , long - term relationship . Meredith relies heavily on Cristina for emotional support and guidance . Eventually , Derek and Meredith decide to marry , but on their wedding day , the pair give their `` perfect '' wedding ceremony to Izzie and Alex , to marry each other during the planned ceremony instead . The development of Grey and Shepherd 's relationship , during season three , was disliked among television critics . Meredith and Derek marry by writing their wedding vows on a post-it note . Meredith spends the majority of a season out of commission after donating part of her liver to Thatcher and supporting Cristina 's new relationship with Owen Hunt , an army doctor with worrisome PTSD . Mereduth experiences another immense trauma after the hospital is put under a lockdown from an active mass - shooter seeking revenge against Derek . Meredith offers her own life in exchange for his and miscarries her baby during the crisis . She goes through this traumatic experience with Cristina , who operates on Derek while threatened at gunpoint . Meredith hides her loss and the trauma psychiatrist refuses to clear neither Cristina nor Meredith for their return to surgery . Meredith is able to work through her issues and become cleared , but Cristina remains deeply traumatized . Meredith covers for and supports her friend through her dark time , but is ultimately unable to fully help her return to surgery . Meredith decides to actively try to become pregnant , but learns that she has a `` hostile uterus '' , which leads her to consider her other possible genetic flaws . Derek , who is constantly worried about the possibility that she will develop Alzheimer 's , initiates a clinical trial hoping to cure the disease . Meredith opts to work on the trial and appears to be leaning towards a neuro specialty . When the chief of surgery , Richard Webber ( James Pickens Jr . ) 's wife , Adele , is diagnosed with Alzheimer 's , she receives a spot on the trial . Meredith tampers with the drugs so that Adele does not receive the placebo . She and Derek decide to adopt Zola , an orphaned baby from Malawi , and make their marriage legal . When the truth about the tampering comes out , however , a furious Derek tells her he can not raise a child with her because of her moral ambiguity . Meredith is fired , and tries to conceal both this and her marital separation from the adoption counselor in order to keep Zola . Although Dr. Webber steps down as chief of surgery and takes the blame for the trial tampering to protect Meredith , Zola is taken away . She and Derek reconcile . Meredith chooses a general specialty over neuro , and they successfully fight to get Zola back . As her last year of residency is coming to a close , the residents travel around the country , searching for the best jobs in their specialties . In order to finish their residency , the residents must take the medical boards . Meredith takes the exam while sick with the flu . She decides to take a job offer at The Brigham and Women 's Hospital as the next step in her career . During a medical flight to undertake a prestigious surgery involving conjoined twins , Meredith , Derek , Cristina , and Lexie , among others , are involved in an aviation accident . The plane crash kills Lexie , and the survivors are trapped in the wooded wilderness for days waiting for help . Following their rescue , Merdith becomes an attending general surgeon at Seattle Grace , now Seattle Grace - Mercy West . While Cristina flees Seattle for her fellowship , Meredith , afraid of flying and change , declines her job offer , and clings to what remains in Seattle . Cristina and Meredith begin calling the hospital Seattle Grace Mercy Death in light of the immense amount of trauma , death , and pain they have experienced there . Meredith 's newfound attitude and sarcasm leads to her being dubbed `` Medusa '' by the hospital 's new batch of interns . In the aftermath of the plane accident , the hospital is sued and eventually found guilty of negligence . Each victim including Derek , Cristina , Arizona Robbins ( Jessica Capshaw ) and herself must receive $15 million of compensation , which leads the hospital to a near bankruptcy as the insurance company refuses to pay due to a loophole . The doctors along with Callie Torres ( Sara Ramirez ) buy the hospital with the help of the Harper Avery Foundation to prevent it from closing and become new members of the directing board . Meredith asks Dr. Bailey to perform gene mapping on her to finally know whether she has Alzheimer 's genes like her mother . She tests positive for more than one of the genetic markers for the disease . Meredith moves to the completed dream home and sells her house to Alex , who purchases it as the only true home he 's ever known . He continues Meredith 's tradition of keeping the house open to any `` strays '' needing a home . Meredith discovers she is pregnant and gives birth to a son . The baby is delivered via C - section . While stitching Meredith up , the obstetrician who operated on her is called away to another patient and intern Shane Ross completes the stitching . When blood begins to appear from everywhere , Meredith diagnoses herself in as being in DIC . Dr. Bailey performs a spleen removal , which saves her life . In return , Derek and Meredith name their son Bailey . As a spouse , surgeon , and mother , Meredith has cited a number times that she did not want to be like either of her parents : her father had followed her mother around pathetically before leaving to be happy , while her mother valued her career over her family . Meredith is frequently conflicted trying to balance between the two , and fears her family are hindering her medical aspirations , as much as she fears becoming like her mother whenever she 's tempted to choose surgery over family . Meredith and Cristina have a huge rift when Cristina confirms Meredith 's fears by stating that Meredith 's skills have fallen behind Cristina 's due to her familial obligations taking her away from OR time . Meredith and Derek come to an agreement that he , already established in his career and reputation , would take a step back to take care of the children and allow her to shine . Meredith attempts to regain some ground by starting a promising research trial 3 - D printing portal veins . The conflict between Cristina and Meredith widens when Cristina commandeers Meredith 's resources for her own trial , ultimately garnering a Harper Avery nomination for Cristina . Cristina and Meredith repair their relationship when Meredith confesses that Cristina was correct , her skills have surpassed Meredith 's . Cristina moves to Switzerland take up a job offer from Dr. Preston Burke , her former attending , mentor and fiancé , who was looking for a replacement at a research hospital he was running , thus leaving Alex in charge of being Meredith 's `` person '' in her place , an honor he gladly accepts . Meredith and Derek 's marriage becomes strained when Derek goes against his promise and accepts an offer from the U.S. President to participate in the Brain Mapping Initiative , which consumes his time and eclipses Meredith , who is feeling increasingly left behind and mommy - tracked . He receives an offer to head the project itself in Washington D.C. , meaning that he would have to be based there permanently . Meredith puts her foot down as she does not want to uproot their young family to move across the country for his career at the sacrifice of her own . They begin a series of on - and - off arguments and `` cold wars '' over their careers . Derek accepts the job in the heat of the moment and promptly leaves for Washington . During a phone call with Meredith , they agree to work things out after she tells him that she did not want them to become `` one of those couples '' and he reciprocates , saying that he missed her . She privately admits to Alex that she has realized that she could live independently of Derek , but chooses not to . Meredith finds out she has a maternal half sister named Maggie Pierce who is now working in Grey Sloan Memorial . Meredith is in denial and rejects Maggie , thinking she would have remembered if her mother was pregnant until she finds a hospital document confirming the revelation . Meredith tries to piece together her relationship with her mother and half sister by going through old videos of her mother . She eventually recovers her repressed memories of the pregnancy when she views her mother 's diary and has a change of heart , choosing to accept Maggie and begin building a relationship . Meredith is widowed when Derek is killed in a car accident and was taken to an understaffed hospital . The doctors failed to recognize his head injury in time and allowed personal conflicts to interfere . Derek is declared brain dead , and Meredith must go to the medical center to consent to remove him from life support , shortly before she 's hit with the first waves of morning sickness . She tells Penny , the intern who was assigned to Derek that every doctor has `` that one '' patient who dies on their watch and haunts them forever and `` that one will make you work harder , and they make you better . '' After Derek 's death , Meredith returns to Grey Sloan Memorial to inform the others of his passing . Following the funeral service , Meredith impulsively packs up her belongings and leaves with the children to San Diego . Months pass by while her friends and family are unaware of her whereabouts . Eventually , parallels show similarities in Meredith 's and Ellis ' lives : Both have lost the love of their life , both run away from Seattle following their loss , and both eventually give birth to a daughter . Meredith names her newborn daughter after her mother . Although still grieving over Derek , Meredith returns to Seattle with the children and later becomes chief of general surgery . She sells the `` dream house '' and moves back to her mother 's house , having purchased it back from Alex , and now lives there with Maggie and Amelia Shepherd , her sister - in - law . Meredith hosts a dinner party and at the party Callie brings Penny as a date . Later at the event Meredith finds out Penny will be joining her at Grey Sloan Memorial . Meredith eventually forgives Penny , who becomes her favorite resident over Alex 's girlfriend , Jo. Alex and Meredith continue their close , sibling - like relationship of being each other 's `` person '' , despite Jo 's displeasure and inability to understand their closeness . He supports her when she is violently attacked by a disoriented patient , and she supports him through his legal difficulties . Alex initiates a weekly family waffle day where he makes waffles for everyone in the house . Meredith recovers enough to start seeing Nathan Riggs , Owen Hunt 's former best friend , by season 13 , although their relationship is complicated by the fact that Maggie confesses to Meredith that she has feelings for Riggs and Meredith is not ready to declare their relationship formally or publicly . Eventually she accepts her relationship with Riggs , but it 's complicated by the unexpected return of Owen 's sister , Megan Hunt , Riggs ' fiancée . Meredith finds herself in another love triangle when Megan rejects Riggs because he is still in love with Meredith , but Meredith pushes them to be together . After her relationship with Riggs ends , Meredith is nominated for a Harper Avery Award for her groundbreaking surgery on Megan . Development ( edit ) Casting and creation ( edit ) Pompeo discovered Grey 's Anatomy after an extended period of doing nothing in the acting profession . Her agent suggested she audition amongst other projects . While casting actresses for the part of Meredith Grey , series ' creator Shonda Rhimes said : `` I kept saying we need a girl like that girl from Moonlight Mile , and after a while , they were like , ' We think we can get that girl from Moonlight Mile . ' I spent time with her and got to know her , and then we started casting for the men . '' She reported that Grey was not an easy role to cast because of the strong verbal possibilities . Rhimes was informed that the actress in question was Pompeo , who had a deal in place with ABC , having previously tested for a pilot show on the network . It has been speculated that Pompeo was the first character to be cast , but when asked , she said she did not know of this . When asked of how she created Pompeo 's character , Rhimes said : `` `` ( I was ) in my pajamas at home , which is where I spent a lot of time writing . I kept asking myself , ' What kind of woman should the heroine be ? ' I thought she should be someone who had made some big mistakes . As it turns out , Meredith also has another problem : She is trying to live up to her mother 's renowned career in surgery . Meredith is the daughter of a mother who basically never spent any time with her -- the daughter of a mother who now has Alzheimer 's and does n't even remember her . '' '' Pompeo was cast as the program 's titular character , described by Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times as `` a prickly , independent sort whose ambition , and ambivalence , is fueled by the fact that her mother was a gifted surgeon and now suffers from Alzheimer 's . '' Grey also serves as the show 's narrator , and as such was likened in early reviews to Carrie Bradshaw ( Sarah Jessica Parker ) , the narrator and protagonist of Sex and the City . After her initial contract with Grey 's Anatomy expired , Pompeo negotiated a new one , in which she would be paid US $200,000 per episode , making her and Dempsey the highest - paid cast members on the show . In 2012 , Forbes recognized Pompeo as the eighth highest - paid actress on television , with a salary of US $275,000 per episode for her role on Grey 's Anatomy . Pompeo 's second contract with Grey 's Anatomy expired after the eighth season , and speculation arose that she would be leaving subsequently . In September 2011 , Pompeo reported that she is open to the idea of extending her contract , if invited . She told TV Guide : `` I would never turn up my nose at ( Grey 's Anatomy ) . As long as the stories are honest and truthful , and Patrick ( Dempsey ) and I feel there is material for us to be passionate about , it still beats a 9 - to - 5 job any day . If I hear from the fans that they want us to keep going , then I would continue because we owe them everything . '' E ! Online reported in May 2012 , that Pompeo , as well as all original cast members have signed on for two more years . With the Huffington Post 's announcement of season nine having officially been renewed , the contract is set into place for Pompeo to return . Pompeo 's contract expired again at the end of the twelfth season . She signed a new contract to keep her in the starring role on the series for thirteenth season . According to a report in Deadline.com , Pompeo was earning $300,000 per episode under the new deal . Characterization ( edit ) Whatever I come up with , ( Pompeo ) is always game to play . She 's been so good at what she 's done that I 've just let the character do what I 've wanted the character to do , which has been wonderful . She 's managed to sell every single thing because she 's really believed it . The incredible thing is that you can have no fear to write what you think because she is always able to deliver . Executive producer Betsy Beers on developing Pompeo 's character Grey is the protagonist and focal point of the series . She has been called `` intelligent , compassionate , hard - working , oftentimes outspoken , easily distracted , and indecisive '' by Grey 's Anatomy executives . Pompeo says she is unaware if her character knows how to have fun , adding : `` All of my scenes with ( Dempsey ) are the same -- we 're either breaking up or having sex . '' Her personality has evolved over the past few seasons from depressed , to happy and `` fixed '' . Pompeo said to Good Morning America , `` I am so incredibly lucky to have Patrick ( Dempsey ) , to have the chemistry that we do , we have an amazing relationship , and it 's like any other relationship , you have your ups and downs . But we work it out , and we 've found a way to do this for this long and still get along , and make it work and believe in what we 're doing . '' Pompeo told Entertainment Weekly : `` It 's awkward with Patrick ( Dempsey ) because he 's like my brother . As soon as the camera is off , I 'm like , ' Is your hand on my butt ? ' But there are millions of girls who have been waiting for this , so I feel an obligation to the fans . '' Rhimes used the dog `` Doc '' , which Meredith and Derek shared , as a metaphor of their relationship during the second season . She characterizes Grey as doing what she thinks is right : `` Meredith is the girl who put her hand on a bomb in a body cavity . Meredith is the girl who tried to help a serial killer kill himself , so that he could donate his organs . Meredith -- and this is obvious -- has a compass that has always led her to shades of grey . She does not believe in black - and - white , she does not believe in good or bad , she does what she thinks is right . '' McKee deemed Grey and O'Malley's sexual encounter irreversible . The character had a one - night stand with George O'Malley , in the second season . Series writer Stacy McKee , said of the sexual encounter : `` There 's no turning back . There 's nothing George and Meredith can do . The damage is done -- things will never be the same . They 've just changed something important in their lives FOREVER and ... they are freaking out . '' Grey 's character development has also been known as an influence on the creation of her half - sister , Lexie Grey . Particularly , it has been made clear that they both share the same motives . McKee offered her thoughts : `` Meredith and Lexie both want to succeed . They want to be strong . They want to feel normal . They want , so much , to be whole . But it 's a struggle -- a genuine struggle for them . Being hardcore does n't come naturally . Sometimes , they have to fake it . '' Grey 's personality has been compared with that of Alex Karev 's . Rhimes offered the insight : `` I like to create moments for him and Meredith . Because , in my head , they are very similar people . Even though Karev can be such an ass , even though he 's arrogant , even though he gave O'Malley the Syph . He and Meredith are both lost , both lonely , both former screw - ups who got their acts together . In another lifetime , they would be really good friends . So throughout the season , we watch them pause from time to time to look at each other and see that they are mirrors of one another . -- Shonda Rhimes , Grey Matter Pompeo fights for a truthful storyline for her character -- she wants it to be realistic and says you ca n't always wrap it up in a neat little package . Referring to Grey 's tampering with Shepherd 's trial , Pompeo said : `` Listen , what Meredith did clearly crossed a line . Derek has a right to be pissed . '' Following the tampering , Rhimes said she believes that Grey and Shepherd are meant to be together and that it in the end , they will end up with each other . Grey 's relationship with Cristina Yang , has been looked upon as `` sisterhood '' , and Yang has repeatedly referred to Grey as `` her person '' . This led to the two being dubbed `` the twisted sisters '' . At the conclusion of season three , the duo went on a `` honeymoon '' together , and Rhimes called it her favorite detail of the finale . Grey has been characterized , by some , as `` whiny '' . Rhimes offered her insight : `` I 've heard a lot of talk about Meredith being whiny but the truth is , she 's got a mom ( who died of ) Alzheimer 's , no other family to speak of , and the man she loves is married . She 's pretty freaking lonely , people . She 's got a right to get her whine on . So , when she falters , it 's partly because she 's got nothing to hang on to . As she says in the first episode , she needs a reason to go on , she needs some hope . '' Rhimes felt that the 100th episode showed well Meredith 's evolution throughout the show from a `` dark and twisty girl '' to a `` happy woman '' . She said : `` She is the thing her mother wished for her . She is extraordinary . Because , to get past the crap of your past ? To move on ? To let the past go and change ? That is extraordinary . To love ? Without fear ? Without screwing it up ? That is extraordinary . It makes me happy to see her happy . '' Following the departure of Patrick Dempsey 's character , Rhimes was quoted as saying that `` ... Meredith and the entire Grey 's Anatomy family are about to enter uncharted territory as we head into this new chapter of her life . The possibilities for what may come are endless . '' With at least a year left in Pompeo 's contract with the show , viewers are sure to witness some of the most difficult times of Meredith 's life yet . Reception ( edit ) Reviews ( edit ) The character has received both overwhelmingly positive reviews to weary response from television critics throughout the course of the show . The initial response to the character was positive but as the series progressed Meredith Grey became immensely popular and Pompeo established the character as a critic and fan favorite featuring on a number of Top TV Character lists . The development of the character has been deemed as the highlight of the show . Grey has constantly been defined as `` the heroine of Grey 's Anatomy '' . At the time of inception Newsday 's Diane Werts praised the character stating , `` Like Hugh Laurie 's irascible `` House '' title character , star Ellen Pompeo 's newly minted Dr. Grey conveys such substance that you simply ca n't stop watching . '' Ellen A. Kim of After Pompeo not receiving an Emmy nomination for her work as Grey , McNamara of the Los Angeles Times suggested that Pompeo , `` who has worked very hard and against all narrative odds to make Meredith Grey an interesting character at last '' should have received a nomination at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards . Later , during the twelfth season Western Gazette gave Ellen Pompeo the credit for carrying the show and re-ittirated . '' ( It 's ) time for Pompeo to finally win an Emmy Award . '' Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly referred to Grey as the `` trusty voice over master '' of Grey 's Anatomy . Pompeo 's connection with Patrick Dempsey ( Derek Shepherd ) is acclaimed as a high point of the series . Former television columnist for The Star - Ledger Alan Sepinwall expressed his boredom on the focus given on Grey 's relationships storylines while reviewing the second season 's finale : `` On those occasions when Meredith 's not involved in a plot about her love life , I do kind of like her , but those moments are so infrequent compared to her constant angsting over McDreamy -- not to mention all those seemingly unrelated storylines that always turn into a metaphor for that relationship -- that I really , really ca n't stand her . '' During the show 's third season , the development of the character received negative reviews , with Cristopher Monfette of IGN stating that her storyline has become `` some bizarrely under - developed sub-plot about depression and giving Derek a season 's worth of reconsidering to do . '' Also during the third season , Robert Rorke of the New York Post noted the decline in Meredith 's role in the show , expressing disappointment : `` She used to be the queen of the romantic dilemmas , but lately , she 's been a little dopey , what with the endless McDreamy soliloquies . '' Similarly , Macleans.ca found their storyline in the fourth season overused , `` This whole ' Oh I need more time , ' but ' Oh , I 'm jealous if you look at someone else ' angst was tired in the second season , frustrating in the third and now a total channel changer . The will - they - or - wo n't - they plot does n't work because they 've already been in and out of that relationship too many times . Meredith is a nag and McDreamy is henpecked . '' On a more positive note , her relationship with Shepherd was included in AOL TV 's list of the `` Best TV Couples of All Time '' and in the same list by TV Guide . During the sixth season the development of the character was praised , Glenn Diaz of BuddyTV commented that `` You got ta love Mer when she 's gloomy . '' , in addition to praising Pompeo 's performance . In her review of the episode Tainted Obligation she wrote `` I felt for Meredith , but after Lexie 's heartfelt begging and pleading , I was happy that Mere finally grows up and casts her selfishness aside . Three seasons ago Meredith would never have dreamed of putting Lexie first , and I was proud of her for giving up part of her liver -- her offer to get to know her dad was an even bigger milestone . '' Reviewing the first part of the eighth season , TV Fanatic lauded the character and wrote : `` this season belongs to Meredith Grey . She is the heart and soul of the show and has been outstanding . This is a character that used to be so dark and twisty and has now grown into a more mature woman . Ellen Pompeo has been at the top of her game this season . '' Wit & Fancy praised the transformation of the character and stated , `` Of course Meredith will still make rash decisions like when she took off with Zola , or tampered with the trial but she does things out of love and the kindness of her heart now and not because she is dark and twisty . Considering where Meredith was at the beginning and where she is now , I think she went through a remarkable journey and did more than just growing up , she finally became `` all whole and healed `` . '' Maura O'Malley of Bustle also lauded the development of the character ahead of season 12 saying , `` When the series began , Meredith was just a girl sitting in a bar celebrating the exciting next phase of her life . She had graduated medical school , she was starting her residency at a prestigious hospital , and she was simply looking for a no - strings attached , one night stand . What she got instead was a complicated romantic relationship that rivals Romeo and Juliet -- but the key is , she was n't searching for love . Working and learning were -- and continue to be -- her priorities , while McDreamy was simply an added perk . Hopefully , the new season of Grey 's Anatomy will reflect this change in tone , because Meredith is a strong , independent woman -- and she will be just fine . '' Later in the series , Ellen Pompeo received critical acclaim with numerous critics lauding her portrayal of the character . Reviewing the episode She 's Leaving Home CarterMatt called her the `` anchor '' for Grey 's saying , `` Throughout , this was an episode completely anchored by Ellen Pompeo , who has done some of her best work ever on the show the past couple of weeks . Tonight , she cried , she fought , and she learned that she was carrying his child . '' and added that Pompeo is often `` ovelooked '' saying , `` Her subtlety is probably why she is often overlooked . '' Rick Porter of Zap2it reviewing `` How to Save a Life '' wrote , `` Without Meredith , and without one of Pompeo 's strongest performances in her long time on the show , `` How to Save a Life '' would have run the risk of coming across as a baldly manipulative death episode , the likes of which the show has done several times before . He added . `` How to Save a Life '' may not be the ideal Emmy - submission episode for Pompeo , considering Meredith is off screen for more than half of it . But it 's among the best work she 's ever done on the show . '' USA Today also lauded Pompeo saying , `` In some ways , the episode ( How to Save a Life ) was even more of a showcase for Pompeo . She had some of the more memorable and well - played scenes , from her angry response to the doctor who tries to tell her what her choices are , to her resignation when she realizes she has to comfort and motivate the young doctor whose mistakes cost Derek his life . '' Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald considered Meredith 's friendship with Cristina ( Sandra Oh ) to be `` the secret core of Grey 's '' . The relation between Meredith and Cristina has been acclaimed and been a highlight of the show . Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald considered the friendship to be `` the secret core of Grey 's '' . Aisha Harris of Slate called their relation The Best Female Friendship on TV adding that `` With those two characters , showrunner Shonda Rhimes and her team of writers created one of the most nuanced and realistic portrayals of female friendship on television . '' Samantha Highfill of Entertainment Weekly called Cristina and Meredith the best female friends on TV because `` they do n't try to be '' . There 's nothing fake about them , which is a rarity in how female friends are portrayed on television . She further went on to call them ' soulmates ' , `` And even though they 'd never dare get sappy enough to say it , they 're soul mates . Margaret Lyons of Vulture ( magazine ) called the friendship '' dream BFF relationship . '' and the primary focus of the show , `` One of the series ' calling cards has been its depiction of female friendship and particularly the primacy that friendship enjoyed over romantic relationships . '' `` `` I wanted to create a world in which you felt as if you were watching very real women . Most of the women I saw on TV did n't seem like people I actually knew . They felt like ideas of what women are . They never got to be nasty or competitive or hungry or angry . They were often just the loving wife or the nice friend . But who gets to be the bitch ? Who gets to be the three - dimensional woman ? '' - Rhimes on Cristina - Meredith friendship . '' E ! at the time of Sandra Oh 's exit wrote , `` In Grey 's Anatomy 's 10 - year history , the doctor duo has been through a lot together : weddings , deaths , plane crashes , bomb threats , shooting , you name it , they 've lived ( and danced ) through it . '' and added , `` And with the three words , `` You 're my person . '' Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey solidified their status as the small screen 's best best friends ever . '' Marama Whyte of Hypable wrote , `` Critically , the key relationship in Meredith 's life was not her romance with Derek Shepherd , but her passionate , indestructible , absolutely enviable friendship with Cristina . Talk about relationship goals ; who wants McDreamy when Cristina Yang could be your person . These two were the real powerhouse , and Shonda Rhimes did n't shy away from making the audience remember this . Derek was the love of her life , but Cristina was her soul mate . More than anyone else , Cristina challenged Meredith , was honest with her , and inspired her . For these reasons , it was Cristina who was constantly the source of Meredith 's character development , not Derek . '' Pompeo 's character has also been used to define the image a strong woman , Bustle previewing the 12th season wrote , `` Meredith Grey has always been capable of being on her own . Grey 's Anatomy is about Meredith 's journey . Men and romantic interests are a part of her life , but they are not the priority . She does n't need McDreamy . Grey 's Anatomy does n't need McDreamy . So even if the writers do decide to create a new love interest for Ms. Grey ( Martin Henderson , perhaps ? ) , it would n't matter . I have faith that the show 's writers will do this storyline justice , because TV needs more strong single women -- and Meredith seems like the perfect candidate . '' The site added , `` This past season was almost a trial run for a McDreamy-less Grey 's Anatomy . When Derek left for Washington D.C. to pursue his research , Meredith stayed behind and focused on her own career . She did n't chase him . Her priority were her children and the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital . Meredith showed that she would never put aside her own dreams and aspirations for a man , and I believe that this wo n't change after Derek 's death . '' Awards ( edit ) Main article : List of awards and nominations received by Grey 's Anatomy Pompeo 's failure to garner an Emmy Award nomination has been called a `` snub '' on multiple occasions . Pompeo has won and has been nominated for multiple awards for her portrayal of Grey . She and the Grey 's Anatomy cast won Best Ensemble in a Television Series at the 2006 Satellite Awards . During the following year 's ceremony , she was named Best Actress in a Television Drama Series . She was among the Grey 's Anatomy cast members awarded the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series accolade at the 13th Screen Actors Guild Awards , and received nominations in the same category in 2006 and 2008 . Pompeo received a Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series nomination at the 64th Golden Globe Awards -- the program won Best Drama Series at the same ceremony . Also in 2007 , Pompeo and the female cast and crew of Grey 's Anatomy received the Women in Film Lucy Award , which honors those `` whose work in television has positively influenced attitudes toward women . '' Pompeo 's performance has garnered her multiple People 's Choice Awards . At the 37th People 's Choice Awards , she was nominated against Dempsey and Oh in the Favorite TV Doctor category , and the following year , she was a contender in the Favorite TV Drama Actress category . Since 2012 Pompeo has received nomination at the People 's Choice Awards every year in two categories at 40th People 's Choice Awards alongside Patrick Dempsey and Sandra Oh respectively . She won the Best Drama Actress Award at both the 39th People 's Choice Awards and the 41st People 's Choice Awards . In 2007 , show - business awards reporter Tom O'Neil commented that Pompeo was overdue an Emmy Award nomination for her role in Grey 's Anatomy . Readers of O'Neil's awards website , The Envelope , included Pompeo in their 2009 nominations for Best Drama Actress in the site 's Gold Derby TV Awards . Entertainment Weekly launched the EWwy Awards in 2008 , to honor actors who have not received Emmy nominations . Pompeo was nominated in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category , and placed fourth , with 19 percent of readers ' votes . References ( edit ) Specific Jump up ^ `` Yesterday '' . Grey 's Anatomy . Season 2 . Episode 18 . February 19 , 2006 . ABC . Jump up ^ `` Ellen Pompeo Biography '' . Yahoo . Yahoo ! Movies . Archived from the original on January 14 , 2013 . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Ryan , Maureen ( September 30 , 2005 ) . `` Chicago as a ' Grey ' area ? '' . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 23 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Fonseca , Nicholas ( September 16 , 2005 ) . `` Playing Doctors '' . Entertainment Weekly . Time Inc . Retrieved January 23 , 2012 . Jump up ^ `` Interview : Ellen Pompeo from Grey 's Anatomy '' . Fanbolt . Archived from the original on August 20 , 2010 . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . first1 = missing last1 = in Authors list ( help ) Jump up ^ Winfrey , Oprah ( December 2006 ) . `` Oprah Talks to Shonda Rhimes '' . O , The Oprah Magazine . Harpo Productions , Inc . Retrieved May 24 , 2012 . Jump up ^ McNamara , Mary ( May 15 , 2005 ) . `` ' Grey 's ' takes a scalpel to standard procedure '' . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 23 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Brownfield , Paul ( March 25 , 2005 ) . `` Lessons in the OR and via voice - over '' . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 23 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Stanley , Alessandra ( March 25 , 2005 ) . `` Tales of Sex and Surgery '' . New York Times . Retrieved January 23 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Andreeva , Nellie ( March 9 , 2007 ) . `` '' Grey 's Anatomy '' stars get pay rises `` . Reuters . Retrieved June 19 , 2012 . Jump up ^ `` 2012 Highest Paid TV Actresses '' . Forbes . Forbes , Inc . Archived from the original on July 22 , 2012 . Retrieved August 25 , 2012 . Jump up ^ `` ABC Not Worried About ' Grey 's Anatomy ' Star Contracts ; ' Revenge ' Could Move Out Of Hamptons '' . Access Hollywood . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Bricker , Tierney . `` Grey 's Anatomy : Patrick Dempsey , Ellen Pompeo , Sandra Oh and Justin Chambers Set to Return ! '' . NBC Universal . E ! Online . Archived from the original on May 14 , 2012 . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Ryan , Maureen ( May 10 , 2012 ) . `` ' Once , ' ' Revenge , ' ' Grey 's ' And Two Comedies Renewed By ABC '' . Huffington Post . Huffington Post TV . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Rice , Lynette ( 1 June 2016 ) . `` Ellen Pompeo signs new deal with Grey 's Anatomy '' . Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 5 June 2016 . Jump up ^ Nilles , Billy ( 1 June 2016 ) . `` Ellen Pompeo Signs New Deal for Grey 's Anatomy Season 13 Because No Duh '' . E !. Retrieved 5 June 2016 . Jump up ^ Grey 's Anatomy Season Three DVD : Commentary Feature . Buena Vista , ABC . 2007 . access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Meredith Grey ( Ellen Pompeo ) Bio '' . American Broadcasting Company . Archived from the original on May 15 , 2013 . Retrieved June 13 , 2013 . Jump up ^ Keck , William ( September 24 , 2007 ) . `` A lighter shade of ' Grey 's ' on the set '' . USA Today . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . Jump up ^ `` Ellen Pompeo Biography '' . People . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . 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Retrieved June 19 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Mosthof , Marielle . `` Ellen Pompeo Discusses Keeping the Spark Alive With Her On - Screen Hubby '' . Wet Paint . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Mitovich , Matt Webb . `` Grey 's Exclusive : Ellen Pompeo Weighs In on Mer - Der Fight : ' He Needs To Get Over It , Quick ' '' . TVLine . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Rhimes , Shonda ( October 3 , 2007 ) . `` Shonda on the Season Premiere Episode `` A Change Is Gonna Come '' ... `` . ABC . Grey Matter . Archived from the original on March 31 , 2012 . Retrieved June 19 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Rhimes , Shonda ( February 12 , 2006 ) . `` From Shonda : It 's the end of the episode ( as we know it ) '' . ABC . Grey Matter . Archived from the original on July 2 , 2013 . Retrieved June 19 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Rhimes , Shonda ( May 8 , 2009 ) . `` Shonda Rhimes on `` What a Difference a Day Makes '' ... `` . Grey Matter . American Broadcasting Company . Archived from the original on July 2 , 2013 . Retrieved September 3 , 2013 . Jump up ^ Gay , Verne ( April 24 , 2015 ) . `` Patrick Dempsey leaves ' Grey 's Anatomy ' ; creator Shonda Rhimes says show entering ' uncharted territory ' '' . Newsday . Retrieved May 1 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Stanley , Alessandra ( September 12 , 2006 ) . `` TV Review : Men In Trees '' . The New York Times . The New York Times Company . Retrieved May 10 , 2012 . Jump up ^ http://www.metacritic.com/tv/greys-anatomy/critic-reviews Jump up ^ McNamara , Mary ( July 17 , 2009 ) . `` Seven Emmy nods a good fit '' . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 22 , 2012 . Jump up ^ Hawkins , Alex ( September 28 , 2015 ) . `` Grey 's Anatomy returns swinging in a new direction '' . Western Gazette . Archived from the original on September 29 , 2015 . Retrieved October 1 , 2015 . Jump up ^ Sepinwall , Alan ( May 19 , 2006 ) . `` Odds and sods '' . Sepinwall.blogspot.com . Retrieved August 12 , 2012 . Jump up ^ `` Grey 's Anatomy : Season 3 Review '' . TV.IGN.com . 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Missing or empty title = ( help ) Jump up ^ http://www.eonline.com/news/538821/grey-s-anatomy-we-dare-you-not-to-cry-during-this-tribute-to-cristina-and-meredith-s-epic-friendship Jump up ^ http://www.hypable.com/shondaland-shonda-rhimes-feminism/ Jump up ^ `` Winner Announcement '' ( PDF ) . www.pressacademy.com . International Press Academy . Archived from the original ( PDF ) on July 10 , 2007 . Retrieved January 22 , 2012 . Jump up ^ `` Satellites Award ' No Country , ' ' Juno ' '' . Entertainment Weekly . Time Inc . December 17 , 2007 . Retrieved January 13 , 2012 . Jump up ^ `` The 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards '' . www.sagawards.org . Screen Actors Guild . Retrieved January 13 , 2012 . Jump up ^ `` The 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards '' . www.sagawards.org . Screen Actors Guild . Retrieved January 14 , 2012 . Jump up ^ `` The 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards '' . www.sagawards.org . Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved January 14 , 2012 . 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External links ( edit ) Grey 's Anatomy portal Fictional characters portal Television portal Meredith Grey at ABC.com Meredith Grey on IMDb ( hide ) Grey 's Anatomy Episodes Season 1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Characters ( cast members ) Meredith Grey Cristina Yang Izzie Stevens Alex Karev George O'Malley Miranda Bailey Richard Webber Derek Shepherd Preston Burke Addison Montgomery Mark Sloan Callie Torres Lexie Grey Erica Hahn Owen Hunt Sadie Harris Arizona Robbins Teddy Altman Jackson Avery April Kepner Amelia Shepherd Stephanie Edwards Maggie Pierce Other Awards and nominations Soundtrack Video game Private Practice A Corazón Abierto ( Mexican telenovela ) A Corazón Abierto ( Colombian telenovela ) Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Meredith_Grey&oldid=808602648 '' Categories : Grey 's Anatomy characters Fictional characters from Massachusetts Fictional characters from Washington ( state ) Fictional storytellers Fictional characters introduced in 2005 Fictional surgeons Fictional female doctors Hidden categories : CS1 errors : missing author or editor Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Pages with citations lacking titles Pages with citations having bare URLs Pages containing links to subscription - only content Good articles Pages using deprecated image syntax Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Español فارسی Français 한국어 Íslenska Italiano Македонски Polski Português Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 3 November 2017 , at 22 : 13 . 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The Longest Yard (2005 film) The Longest Yard is a 2005 American sports prison comedy film and a remake of the 1974 film of the same name . Adam Sandler plays the protagonist Paul Crewe , a disgraced former professional quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers , who is forced to form a team from the prison inmates to play football against their guards . Burt Reynolds , who played Sandler 's role in the original , co-stars as Nate Scarborough , the inmates ' coach . Chris Rock plays Crewe 's friend , known as Caretaker . The cast includes James Cromwell , Nelly , William Fichtner and several former and current professional athletes such as Terry Crews , Michael Irvin , Brian Bosworth , Bill Romanowski , Bill Goldberg , Bob Sapp , Kevin Nash , Stone Cold Steve Austin , and Dalip `` The Great Khali '' Singh Rana . The film was produced by MTV Films and Happy Madison Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures , and was released on May 27 , 2005 . Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 4.1 Box office 4.2 Critical response 5 Awards 6 Soundtrack 7 References 8 External links Plot ( edit ) This article 's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed . Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise . ( September 2015 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ) Paul Crewe is a former NFL player who , one night , gets drunk and goes joyriding in the Bentley of his girlfriend Lena , crashing it . It is revealed that he was accused of shaving points in a big game , although it was never proven . In prison , Warden Rudolph Hazen , wishing to boost his prison 's reputation for future elections as State Governor , uses threats and confinement in a hot box to coerce Crewe into helping the prison guards ' football team , led by the hostile Captain Knauer . Crewe informs Hazen that what Hazen 's team needs is a tune - up game to boost the guards ' confidence , and is therefore coerced to form an inmate team to play against the guards . He does so with the help of a newfound friend , Caretaker . They start off with a poorly organized team , before being noticed by another prisoner , former college football star Nate Scarborough , who decides to help coach the team by gathering several intimidating inmates as a boost to the team 's strength . Caretaker tells Crewe that they need more `` brothers '' on the team . When Crewe goes to the basketball court to ask the black inmates to join the team , their leader , Deacon Moss rebuffs him . Crewe challenges Deacon to a one - on - one basketball game , saying that if he wins , the brothers will join the team , and if Deacon wins , Crewe will leave them alone . Deacon accepts , and despite Deacon 's undisguised personal fouls in which he elbows , punches or grabs Crewe , Crewe continues without complaint . On the game - winning shot , Crewe cleanly steals the ball from Deacon and scores , but Deacon calls a foul . Realizing he wo n't be allowed to win , Crewe lets Deacon score the final shot . Although Deacon beats Crewe , one of the brothers , a fast runner named Earl Megget , impressed with Crewe 's decision to take the beating , joins the football team as its running back . When the guards learn of this , they confront Earl in an attempt to provoke an assault by him by saying the racial epithet `` nigger '' , but Earl does not allow himself to be provoked despite intimidation and minor abuse . Having witnessed this , the other `` brothers '' , including Deacon , decide to join the team too . Hazen and the guards continue attempts to hinder Crewe 's team by flooding their field , but the team decides to practice in the mud anyway . Inmate Unger spies on the activities of the inmates and after being pressured by the guards , rigs Crewe 's radio with an explosive . Caretaker unknowingly enters the cell to give a photo gift to Crewe , but is killed when he tries to turn the dial on the radio . On game day , the inmates are revitalized in the wake of Caretaker 's murder when Crewe reveals Caretaker 's last gift to the team , quality gear and uniforms from his cousin at Reebok with the team name `` Mean Machine '' on the uniforms . The Mean Machine overcomes a rough start , due to individual inmates ' attempts to retaliate against guards for the abuse they 've suffered . Crewe angrily tells the inmates that winning the game is more important and will damage the guards more than their personal grudges , and gets them to play as a team . The first half ends with the score tied . The angered Hazen informs Crewe in private that if he does not lose he will be charged for Caretaker 's murder . Crewe acquiesces to Hazen 's threat , asking that the guards refrain from using excessive force on the field after getting a comfortable lead , to which Hazen agrees to do so after they obtain a two touchdown lead . After Crewe fakes an injury in order to leave the field , his teammates voice their displeasure over his obvious deserting of the team . After seeing that Hazen has broken his promise and two members of the Mean Machine are injured , Crewe asks Skitchy if the time spent in jail for punching the warden was worth it . Skitchy replies , `` It was worth every goddamn second , '' and inspired Crewe returns to the field . The team initially doubts Crewe 's resolve and allows him to be sacked twice . After running for a first down on 4th and Long , Crewe , realizing that his inmates are still not protecting him due to his prior actions , calls a huddle , admits to the point shaving that disgraced him , the injury that he faked as a result of Hazen 's threat , and sabotage to the other inmates , and asks for their forgiveness , putting his hands in the middle of all of them . Moss puts his hand in , followed by the rest of the team . The Mean Machine , united again as a team , quickly scores two touchdowns to cut the guards ' lead to 35 -- 28 . After Megget is injured following a long run , Scarborough comes in for one play as replacement and scores a touchdown off a trick play involving a fumble called a Fumblerooski . Mean Machine decides to go for the two - point conversion and the win . As they get up to the line they seem to be confused , and Crewe and Scarborough start arguing in order to trick the guards . Moss gets the snap and passes it to Crewe , who scores the winning conversion , winning the game . Knauer , with a newfound respect for Crewe , tells him that he showed extraordinary nerve , and lets him know that he will vouch that Crewe had nothing to do with Caretaker 's death . Hazen admonishes Knauer for losing a fixed game and notices that Crewe is heading towards the exit . Eagerly implying Crewe is trying to escape , Hazen orders that Crewe be shot for attempting to escape . Knauer hesitates and at the last moment realizes ( and scornfully tells Hazen ) that Crewe is only picking up the game football . Crewe returns it to Hazen , telling him to `` stick it in ( his ) trophy case . '' Moss and Joey Battle give Hazen a Gatorade shower , and when he tells them that this has earned them a week in the hot box , Battle defiantly yells `` Who gives a shit ? ! '' Cast ( edit ) Convicts Adam Sandler as Paul `` Wrecking '' Crewe Chris Rock as James `` Caretaker '' Farrell Burt Reynolds as Coach Nate Scarborough Nelly as Earl Megget Michael Irvin as Deacon Moss Bill Goldberg as Joey `` Battle '' Battaglio Terry Crews as `` Cheeseburger '' Eddy Bob Sapp as Switowski Nicholas Turturro as Brucie Dalip Singh as Turley Lobo Sebastian as Torres Joey Diaz as Tony Rob Schneider as Punky David Patrick Kelly as Unger Eddie Bunker as Doc `` Skitchy '' Rivers Steve Reevis as `` Baby Face '' Bob Rainwater Tracy Morgan as Miss Tucker Prison Staff James Cromwell as Warden Rudolph Hazen William Fichtner as Captain Wilhem Knauer Kevin Nash as Sergeant Engleheart Steve Austin as Guard Dunham Brian Bosworth as Guard Garner Michael Papajohn as Guard Papajohn Conrad Goode as Guard Webster Bill Romanowski as Guard Lambert Cloris Leachman as Lynette Grey Others Allen Covert as Referee Jim Rome as Himself Chris Berman as Himself Lauren Sanchez as Herself Patrick Bristow as Walt Adam Schefter as Himself Peter King as Himself Courteney Cox as Lena ( uncredited ) Dan Patrick as Police Officer Rap group D12 except for Eminem appeared in the movie and they were credited as Basketball Convicts . Eminem was mentioned in the scene where Crewe comes to invite the Basketball team and a player says : ' Look guys , it 's the fake Slim Shady ' mocking his race . Production ( edit ) The movie was filmed at the New Mexico State Penitentiary on Route 14 , Santa Fe , New Mexico . The football game at the end of the film was filmed at Murdock Stadium at the El Camino College in Torrance , California . The car chase scene was filmed whereabouts in Long Beach , California . Other parts of the film were filmed in Los Angeles and New Mexico . The golf course scene was filmed at Lost Canyons Golf Club in Simi Valley , California . Reception ( edit ) Box office ( edit ) The film did well at the box office . Its $47.6 million opening weekend was the largest of Sandler 's career and only second to The Day After Tomorrow as the largest opening by a movie that was not # 1 . The film would go on to gross $158.1 million in the United States and Canada and $190 million worldwide . It was the highest - grossing film produced by MTV Films , until it was surpassed by Hansel and Gretel : Witch Hunters . Despite the large number of remakes released at the theaters , it 's worth noting that The Longest Yard is the highest grossing comedy remake of the modern box office era ( from 1980 on ) . Critical response ( edit ) On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 32 % based on 165 reviews , with an average rating of 4.8 / 10 . The website 's critical consensus reads , `` This Yard has some laughs but missing from this remake is the edginess of the original . '' On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 , based on 35 critics , indicating `` mixed or average reviews '' . According to CinemaScore , audiences gave the film a grade of `` A − '' on an A+ to F scale . Roger Ebert , in the critical minority with this title , gave it a `` Thumbs Up '' , defending it later in his Chicago Sun - Times review as a film that `` ... more or less achieves what most of the people attending it will expect . '' In the print review , Ebert beseeches his readers to `` ... seek out a movie you could have an interesting conversation about '' , citing films not in wide release such as Dominion : Prequel to the Exorcist and Kontroll , until finally encouraging his readers to `` drop any thought of seeing anything else instead '' if they can see Crash . Awards ( edit ) The film earned Chris Rock a BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Theatrical Film . Burt Reynolds earned a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actor for his performance in the film . Soundtrack ( edit ) Main article : The Longest Yard ( soundtrack ) The official soundtrack , which consisted entirely of hip - hop music , was released on May 24 , 2005 by Universal Records . It peaked at 11 on the Billboard 200 and 10 on the Top R&B / Hip - Hop Albums . The film itself contains a mixture of hip hop and rock music , featuring music by Creedence Clearwater Revival , Norman Greenbaum and AC / DC among others . References ( edit ) ^ Jump up to : `` The Longest Yard ( 2005 ) '' . Box Office Mojo . Retrieved February 27 , 2018 . Jump up ^ `` Filming at Lost Canyons Golf Club '' . Lost Canyons . December 1 , 2014 . Jump up ^ `` Comedy Remake '' . Box Office Mojo . Retrieved December 1 , 2014 . Jump up ^ `` CinemaScore '' . CinemaScore . Retrieved 2015 - 07 - 15 . Jump up ^ Ebert , Roger ( May 26 , 2005 ) . `` Reviews : The Longest Yard '' . rogerebert.com . 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