#Anthony Hill Says There Are ‘Genuine Surprises’ Ahead for Winston & Maggie

How will Grey Sloan’s newest couple — Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) and Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill) — do working side by side? That’s the question for the March 18 episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

Winston had eliminated the long distance part of their relationship in the winter finale. In fact, he came to Seattle just before the hospital lost one of its own, Dr. Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti), so he’ll be diving into the emotional and medical side of things on the ABC drama.

Hill chats with TV Insider about Winston and Maggie’s future, his character as a doctor, and more.

It’s sweet that Winston’s in Seattle, but what exactly are his plans? He and Maggie haven’t really talked logistics.

Anthony Hill: That’s what’s exciting about Winston to play. He knows what he wants and he’s a carpe diem-type guy. He knows he wants to be with Maggie, and Maggie knows she wants to be with Winston, so he surprises her. Right now, they’re working together on how those plans are going to turn out.

In this next episode, Maggie gives him privileges at Grey Sloan so he can work alongside her on a case. They get to team up for the first time since Tufts.

What will we see from Winston as a doctor?

We haven’t seen Winston do anything medical-related, so I’m excited for people to see him do what he does for the first time and be in his element. He helps diagnose a patient and teams up with Maggie to come up with a solution.

He’s a very nice guy outside of and inside the hospital. But when it comes to his profession, he is no-nonsense. His bedside manner’s great, but I feel like if he were to be around somebody who maybe wasn’t up to par, he might call them out and give them a hard time and question if they should be there with him. He’s pretty hard-nosed when it comes to being inside of a hospital. It’s all business for him.

Does working together have any effect on Winston and Maggie’s personal relationship?

We might get a little taste of the work/romantic life balance. That’s quintessential Grey’s Anatomy. That’s how it’s been since Episode 1 with Meredith [Ellen Pompeo] and Derek [Patrick Dempsey]. How do you co-exist in a hospital, work together, and then go home and get along and start it all over the next day? That’s something we’ve always liked seeing explored on the show, and it’s going to be interesting to see how that works with these two.

Winston and Maggie are already talking about what they’ll be doing when they’re 80. Will they talk about their long-term plans?

They take it day-by-day. It might not be touched on until a little ways down this back half of the season. They have more milestones they’re going to reach in this relationship. I’m looking forward to fans seeing their relationship unfold because there are some big moments and some genuine surprises coming up in these next few weeks.

Winston has met Jackson [Jesse Williams] and realized he’s Maggie’s ex.

I, Anthony, love the idea that there maybe being a little bit of a conflict there between those two in one way or another. You’re dealing with two men who are fairly mature though. I don’t know if that will be a thing. It’s definitely awkward.

We did get a few light-hearted moments with Winston, Jackson, and Link [Chris Carmack] in the episode, which was needed with everything else going on.

Yeah, exactly, and that’s a point that’s been a through line for Winston and Maggie especially. They’ve been a point of light throughout this really heavy season, with COVID looming over everybody. But now with the death of Dr. DeLuca, we need all of the joy we can get when we can get it, and I like that last episode, all those guys got together and had some fun scenes. There will be more of that vibe with Winston and as he enters into Maggie’s world and all the people she knows and loves, there will be more of those lighthearted interactions.

We got that when Winston showed up in Seattle, with that nice reunion before Meredith was put on the vent.

Exactly. There’s just so much heaviness right now with everything going on, because I didn’t even mention Meredith. Meredith is obviously the face and namesake of the show and she’s in quite a position right now. It’s in limbo and that’s all felt all the time by everybody. It’s interesting to play a guy who doesn’t know any of these people yet. He’s feeling all of everybody’s sad energy and in an empathetic way, but he doesn’t really know what everybody’s going through.

Who will Winston be spending the most time with besides Maggie?

There’s some things coming up with Dr. Webber [James Pickens Jr.] that I think are pretty important.

How will Winston be there for Maggie while she grieves for DeLuca?

That’s why they work is because he allows her to be all of the things she is. Right now, it’s deep tragedy hitting her life and she’s grieving and just his presence, just him being there I found is helpful. They’re not looking through a phone anymore. They’re eye-to-eye and they get to comfort each other just by each other’s presence, and that will go a long way in this next episode for Maggie as she grieves.

Will we see more with Winston’s family? Perhaps in a setting where he doesn’t leave Maggie to fend for herself?

I hope so. We allude to it at some point coming up, that he does tie up some loose ends there. Hopefully he doesn’t leave her to fend for herself in the process this time.

Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC