Andrew DeLuca, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on ABC in the United States. The character was portrayed by Giacomo Gianniotti. Gianniotti was cast in April 2015 and was promoted to series regular status in January 2016. In 2018, Gianniotti reprised his role in the spin-off series Station 19 as a guest.
Andrew was introduced as a new surgical intern at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital at the end of the eleventh season, eventually obtaining the position of a resident in the thirteenth season. He became one of the few interns and residents in later seasons to have personal connections to the attending surgeons. Andrew struggled with the everyday life of being in a competitive profession, fitting in with his peers, and navigating personal relationships with his friends and colleagues.
Gianniotti exited the series in the seventeenth season. For his performance, Gianniotti was nominated for two Golden Maple Awards in 2016.
Development
On April 15, 2015, it was announced that Gianniotti was cast in an undisclosed role for the final two episodes of the eleventh season, with the possibility of recurring in the twelfth season. He was promoted to the main cast on January 8, 2016, midway through the twelfth season.
The announcement of Gianniotti's casting and the character's introduction initially received backlash from some fans who felt that the character was meant to be a replacement for Derek Shepherd, a character that had recently been written off the series to accommodate the departure of actor Patrick Dempsey. However, Gianniotti denied that this was the case, saying, "I'm just a new character on the show. I'm not filling any void." He also confirmed at the time that "Andrew won't have any [romantic] intentions with Meredith [Grey] so fans don't have to worry about any threat."
In the beginning, Gianniotti struggled with the technical aspects of acting out surgeries. "My first surgery went terribly because I didn't know the protocol for so many things, and the other actors were laughing at me. I was just getting everything wrong. Like, once you're in the OR, your hands have to be by your chest, otherwise you're no longer sterile — I just didn't know that, or how to hold my instruments." However, the lack of direction allowed for Gianniotti to "fill in the blanks" of the character on his own. "I think that [Andrew] is a very honest, genuine, passionate guy. He's very driven — I relate to him a lot — and he knows he's good at what he does. I think he's more of an introvert and now he finds himself as an adult and maybe he's rediscovering who he is as a man [and] how to date women."
Background
When Andrea "Andrew" DeLuca was young, he and his mother moved to Wisconsin from Italy while his sister Carina stayed behind with their father, Vincenzo DeLuca. Vincenzo was a renowned, but corrupt and mentally unstable surgeon in their home country. After operating in a manic state and killing four patients, Vincenzo used his connections and money to avoid prosecution, prompting his wife to leave with Andrew. At some point, Andrew's mother returned to Italy to visit Carina, where she had a stroke and died.
There is an inconsistency when DeLuca is assaulted by Alex, Maggie says she’ll call his parents because they know her, but then seasons later, they reveal that his mom is dead (and has been) and he hasn’t seen his father, who was still in Italy.
Both DeLuca siblings speak fluent Italian and English, but due to the different settings they grew up in, Carina has an Italian accent when she speaks English and Andrew has an American accent when speaking Italian. Before becoming a doctor, Andrew worked as an EMT straight out of high school. At some point, he dated future colleague Sam Bello. Their chaotic relationship was ultimately left unresolved when Sam moved away.
Storylines
The penultimate episode of the eleventh season "Time Stops" features the first appearance of Dr. Andrew DeLuca. In the episode, Andrew emerges from a rescue vehicle carrying patients from a tunnel collapse. At the hospital, he identifies himself as a surgeon and says that he was on his way to work at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital when he saw the accident and joined the rescue. He quickly lends a hand in helping the victims and, because he is wearing a suit and seems confident in what he is doing, the other doctors assume that he is an attending. However, he is later revealed to be an intern, which causes the other interns to ostracize him.