Ellen Pompeo on Leaving Meredith Grey Behind with ‘Good American Family’ (Exclusive)

Ellen Pompeo sat down with “Extra’s” Melvin Robert to talk “Good American Family,” the new series drama inspired by the headline-making Natalia Grace story.

Pompeo said she was familiar with Natalia’s story, but had not seen the documentary series about her life.

In the show, Ellen’s character Kristine Barnett and her husband Michael Barnett (Mark Duplass) adopt who they believe is an 8-year-old girl with a rare form of dwarfism, but they slowly start to suspect she might not be who she says she is.

She explained that the idea behind the show was to offer “perspectives,” but insisted, “We didn't want opinions.”

Ellen wasn’t sure about taking on the project at first, but recalled her agent told her, “You can disappear into this character and… leave Meredith Grey [of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’] behind for these eight episodes, and I think it's a chance you should take.”

Pompeo later added, “It was an opportunity to step into something completely different, because I worked with the hair and makeup team and the brilliant costumer. We had so much fun. These craftspeople in this business, in Hollywood, what they do, what they're able to do, they're so so good at what they do, and it's so fun collaborating with them, because they're the best at what they do. You really just sit back and let them say what they think it should be. It's a collaboration, but they're the best at what they do, so you wanna hear everything they have to say and embrace their ideas, and it just, magic happens. I love the collaboration of it all with all our crew people here in town. They're all fantastic, and they made it really fun because the process of finding the character becomes so fun."

As a mom herself, Ellen also spoke about being able channel that into the character.

“I think all mothers have that intensity and that passion and love for children and also this sort of drive to want to be the best mother you can be. And what does that mean to different people? Everybody has their own version of what that is, and that's their truth.

She continued, "And so, I think just that intensity, to tap into that intensity that I feel in moments when my children are making me so proud and doing something and my heart just explodes or when they're making me so mad and they just, you know, won't take a bath. They're just refusing to do what you're asking them to do and you have 20 minutes and you have to get it done. You can draw on all those things and then you just, you know, have a double espresso and ramp it up."

“Good American Family” premieres March 19 on Hulu.