Jesse Plemons' one-episode role in Grey’s Anatomy is significant to both the show and the actor's filmography. Plemons has had a banner career since appearing in a number of television roles, including Grey’s Anatomy. He’s worked with the most critically acclaimed directors in Hollywood including Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Adam McKay, Charlie Kaufman, and Jane Campion in the highly decorated Power of the Dog, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Plemons is an extremely versatile actor; he can play kind, menacing, and funny equally well, which makes him suited for a variety of roles.
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Before Plemons began appearing in critically acclaimed film roles, he was a notable television actor. At the beginning of his career, he was best known for his role in Friday Night Lights as Landry Clarke, whose murder plot famously took up most of season 2. After his main role in the series, Plemons appeared in Breaking Bad as sociopathic criminal Todd Alquist, showcasing a very different side of the actor's range. Between those roles, Plemons appeared in dozens of television shows, often for just one episode but even just those single appearances, such as his one in Grey’s Anatomy, suggested the young actor had singular talent.
Jesse Plemons Played Jake Burton In Season 2
Plemons appeared in Grey's Anatomy season 2, episode 18 “Yesterday,” in 2006. As Jake Burton, a young man with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, Plemons is covered in prosthetics to show the tumors afflicting the teenager. There are benign tumors on Burton’s face but there are malignant ones encroaching on his brain. Despite his illness, Jake remains positive, and it’s one of the sweetest Grey’s Anatomy episodes for it. He’s aware that his appearance makes some people uncomfortable and instead of getting upset when Dr. Cristina Yang has trouble looking at him, he teases her. Despite the danger, Jake asks to have both the facial and brain tumors removed in one surgery.
Sadly, Jake dies under anesthesia, and as a gracious act, the doctors remove the facial tumors. It’s a dour ending, but Plemons turns in an incredible performance despite most of his features being covered up. He has to play someone who has had to deal with an internal and external disease that has had detrimental effects on his life but has also matured him, forcing him to deal with an issue that even an adult would have difficulty accepting. Burton is one of the most memorable patients in Grey’s Anatomy, and Plemons has a pathos that feels real and makes the audience understand the hardship Jake has lived with.
Jesse Plemons Had A Positive Impact On The Show
This Grey’s Anatomy episode is elevated by Plemons' performance, as his character Jake adds a moment of loss to the show that seems incredibly unfair. Melodrama is not an unusual part of Grey's Anatomy, but the specific details of Jake’s life make his death particularly tragic. Plemons brings his monotone delivery and sunken stare to the character, and it’s an early version of what would make him unique and mesmerizing in future roles such as Power of the Dog. Shows like Grey’s Anatomy are reliant on guest actors to help bolster the long season and Jesse Plemons makes his episode as memorable as any.