Chyler Leigh: Lexie with McDreamy Would've Been a Nightmare!

Chyler Leigh may not be sure whether Grey's Anatomy's Lexie and George will ever be on the same page romantically, but one thing she knows for certain: Mer's sis setting her sights on Derek would have been a prescription for disaster. In this Q&A, Leigh lets loose on Lexie's love life, the tease of being Ellen Pompeo's "sister" and much more.

TVGuide.com: Let's start off talking about this week's episode, where "Lexie goes to great lengths to have George notice her romantically," says the ABC logline. What's involved?
Chyler Leigh: Lexie's just kind of throwing herself out there – obviously, in her mind, but he's just not getting it.

TVGuide.com: No, he's not.
Leigh: He's completely oblivious. [Laughs] Even little comments that she is making repeatedly....

TVGuide.com: Like, "Let's go out and celebrate you passing the exam!"
Leigh: "Let's go out and celebrate," and then she's left in the dust. Even so, she didn't really take that too close to heart. She just keeps throwing herself under the bus.

TVGuide.com: Do any of her tactics involve whipping out the Stuff Magazine cover you did a few years back with Mia Kirshner?
Leigh: Oh, lord....

TVGuide.com: Because that would raise George's eyebrows.
Leigh: Yes, but that wouldn't have been Lexie. [Laughs] And unfortunately it was me, many, many moons ago.

TVGuide.com: George and Izzie certainly had their fans as a couple. Were you nervous to be his potential "rebound" girl?
Leigh: Nah! On paper, they're a really good match, in the way that they get along and support one another. When I first learned about it, I was like, "Oh, that's really cool!" And I love T.R. [Knight].

TVGuide.com: Plus, it's better than coming in to bust up Meredith and Derek, which is where I thought they were going when Lexie first flirted with Derek at the bar.
Leigh: Oh, gosh, yeah. I got enough flack for that when I first came on! I'm really, really, really glad that didn't happen, because I probably would have gotten slashed tires.

TVGuide.com: The Lexie we saw in that scene with Derek seemed more sure of herself. Was the character purposely tweaked between then and when we first really got to know her?
Leigh: What was special and different and about that scene was that fact that 1), her mother had just died, so she wasn't necessarily thinking the way she normally would, and 2), she was drunk. A lot of times, that brings out a lot more courage than we actually have. Even when she slipped and hooked up with Alex, it wasn't out of her being a bad girl. In the midst of her having so much thrown at her at one time — all these negative feelings from work and from Meredith — that was her one ploy to get some sort of positive affirmation.

TVGuide.com: Was it a tease to be cast as Ellen Pompeo's sister and then get so few scenes with her — let alone any civil ones?
Leigh: No kidding! We kind of laugh about that. It's something that, before the writers strike, they were going to bring up more. But because we lost time, [Grey's creator] Shonda [Rhimes] didn't want to just cram it all into the last couple of episodes. It will be explored further this season.

TVGuide.com: I find myself screaming at the TV, "C'mon, can't we just get along?!"
Leigh: [Laughs] We do that, too. When we do have scenes together, we have to ask, "We haven't seen each other in two episodes. Are we cool yet?"

TVGuide.com: I like your scenes with Eric Dane, where Sloan calls Lexie on her feelings for George, yet she resists being goaded.
Leigh: There's something cool about their "friendship." She finds in him somebody that she can be more of herself with, and that emboldens her.

TVGuide.com: He's a great talk-to for Lexie, if only because no one else wants to listen to her... or they're George.
Leigh: Exactly.

TVGuide.com: During a long day of shooting, who's most likely to lighten the mood on the set?
Leigh: I would say Sandra Oh. No offense to anybody else – Katie Heigl is very funny, too – but Sandra really is one of the coolest people I have ever met.

TVGuide.com: Back when Fox's Reunion was abruptly cancelled, we were flooded with emails demanding resolution. Where were we going with Carla?
Leigh: Alexa Davalos' Sam was the one who ended up dying, so everybody was trying to cover their tracks. [The shooter] was supposed to be her daughter, who later down the road would have come to work for me. I tried to get them reconciled, but someone breaks into the apartment of Sean Faris' character, while Sam was there with her daughter. In a struggle with this intruder, Amy accidentally shot Sam.

TVGuide.com: OK, one last tease about what's coming up for Lexie....
Leigh: All I can say is this: There are really, really big, good and juicy things coming up for Lexie. One of them involves the other interns who Lexie starts to bond with. She becomes more assertive as they all try to get more hands-on training. It's pretty cool.