Levi Schmitt

Levi Schmitt is a surgical intern at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Early Life
When Levi was a child, he was determined to be first in line to get a comic book, but on the way, a block from the store, he flipped over the handlebars of his bike and broke both his arms. ("I Want a New Drug")

Rotation at Grey Sloan
Levi was selected to be part of a group of "sub-i's" doing a rotation at Grey Sloan Memorial as a sort of extended interview to attempt to get an internship there. On his first day, he was observing a surgery when he leaned over the body cavity and his glasses fell in. Later, Levi went to apologize to Jo about what he'd done. She told him to buy contacts, which he said he'd already done, and the two ended up going back to Levi's mom's basement to have sex. ("Break Down the House")

The next day at work, he returned her name tag, which she'd left there accidentally. He and the other sub-interns were challenged to find a suitable abdominal wall donor for Megan. He found a good donor, but didn't know how to approach the family about it. He went to Jo, who took over the case and got to scrub in on the surgery as a result. ("Get Off on the Pain")

Interview and Hiring
Levi later returned to the hospital for an official interview for an internship with Drs. Webber and Bailey. During the interview, he revealed that he tried wearing contacts to keep his glasses from falling off his face, but he didn't like touching his own eyeball, so he instead started using a band to keep his glasses on his face. ("Ain't That a Kick in the Head")

Levi attended the new intern mixer at the hospital, where Richard gave a speech about them starting their work as doctors. During the party, Meredith Grey was celebrated as she learned she had been nominated for a Harper Avery Award. The new interns then walked around the hospital, in awe that they worked there and so did Meredith Grey. ("Come on Down to My Boat, Baby")

Internship
When a roller coaster derailed at a fair, Levi tended to Cleo Kim, who was trapped in the roller coaster car. He struggled with suctioning properly while April and Meredith operated. ("Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story")

Levi scrubbed in on surgery on Judy Kemp, who needed a splenectomy. When Meredith determined she needed blood and wasn't able to access it because of the hospital hack, she asked who in the OR had an appropriate blood type. Levi raised his hand and he was hooked up to do a direct transfusion to Judy. ("Out of Nowhere")

Levi started to feel faint due to blood loss and Meredith asked someone to get him a basin to vomit in. He tried to get it himself and passed out on the floor. He was given saline to recover. After he woke up, Judy asked to see him. She thanked him for saving her life and told him to be proud of it and stand up straight. ("1-800-799-7233")

Levi was called to Bailey's house to help her with something. He became disturbed at the things she asked him to retrieve and when she told him to take off his scrubs before coming the next time, prompting him to stand up for himself and say he didn't feel safe with what was happening. She then told him she wasn't trying to seduce him. She was working on the prototype for her surgical contest entry. ("Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger")

After overhearing Maggie, Amelia, and Meredith planning a game night, Levi showed up with Taryn. Maggie just shut the door in their faces. ("Games People Play")

The time came for the interns to go through their Trauma Certification Drill. Owen set the scenario where a Cessna crashed into a Greyhound bus. April interrupted and said that the evacuation helicopter wasn't coming and people were dying. Their job was to save lives. Owen judged the competition, but April hung around to help and insistently made the scenarios worse. She even had a second plane crash hit Andrew, who was helping monitor. She also added rain with a hose. The difficulties ended when April was paged away. Owen helped the interns calm down and continued the drill. When April returned, she learned that Casey had been the one to page her away. He realized that she was endangering the patients the most, so he removed her from the equation. She told him he was trying to cheat and after she "cheated" at her certification, a man came into the hospital and died because she couldn't save him. She then started crying and performing CPR on a dummy while the interns watched. Andrew stopped her and she said the certification was done. ("Caught Somewhere in Time")

When Dayna Rutledge came into the ER after a car accident and told the doctors about her recent cancer diagnosis and promise of a good outcome, Levi was impressed with her oncologist. However, Owen told him never to promise anything like that to patients or Owen would end his career. ("Hold Back the River")

When Arizona became worried about Lanie while she was giving birth, she asked Levi to get a cart together with everything they might need. He found an old cart and stocked it with supplies, but when Arizona looked at it, she noted that he'd put things in all the wrong places and rearranged them based on their use. Lanie's birth went smoothly, but they later used the cart when another new mom hemorrhaged. ("Beautiful Dreamer")

Levi was in the OR with Bailey when she started to feel the effects of the weed cookie she'd ingested. He stayed to assist Jo as she operated in Bailey's place and retrieved Richard's cancer pen so she could determine exactly where the cancer stopped in order to save part of his stomach. ("Judgment Day")

Levi helped Jo with Milo Jankovic, who had swallowed a chew toy and was whistling when he breathed. Once they located the whistle, he did the bronchoscopy with Alex's guidance to remove it. ("Bad Reputation")

When Vik sued the hospital for wrongful termination, Bailey and Richard went to Levi to ask him if he'd ever seen anything to indicate that Vik was incompetent. Levi said he had, but also shared an unhelpful account of Bailey when she was high. ("Fight For Your Mind")

After April was in a car accident and came to the hospital hypothermic, Levi and the other interns took shifts with the attendings doing CPR. ("Cold as Ice")

On the day of Alex and Jo's wedding, Levi was part of the group that went to the wrong wedding due to a faulty GPS link on the invitation April had sent out. When they realized what had happened, they all rushed to get on a ferry out to Bainbridge Island. Despite a series of delays, Jo and Alex eventually got married on the ferry, witnessed by their friends. ("All of Me")

Meeting Nico and Gaining Confidence
Levi helped treat Nisha after she was hit by a car. ("With a Wonder and a Wild Desire") The night after her surgery, he was with her when she spiked a fever post-op. When tests showed that the infection she had was necrotizing fasciitis, he went along with the team into the hyperbaric chamber to debride her wound. After Nisha died, he had to wait along with the others for the chamber to decompress before they could leave. After leaving work, he went to the bar, where Nico bought him a beer. ("Broken Together")

When Dave Buckley came into the ER after having mysteriously collapsed and nearly severing two fingers with a table saw, Levi delivered the news that his blood alcohol content was higher than he thought it could get. ("Gut Feeling")

Amelia brought Betty into the hospital one day and asked Levi for a drug test for Betty. Levi misunderstood and brought Amelia a sample of his own urine. She sent him away to try again. ("Momma Knows Best")

When Owen Hunt took a personal day last-minute, Webber told Taryn and Schmitt that they were to report to Andrew and remember to provide patients the best level of care. They helped Andrew treat a man with lacerations and Levi had trouble with a cut on his forehead. Levi struggled, so Andrew gave him a pointer. Later, when Molly Graham stopped breathing, Andrew had to intubate and brushed off the interns' help, which Richard disapproved of. ("Everyday Angel")

Levi worked on the case of J.J. Williams, who broke his arm trying to climb a fence. His arm was broken, which they confirmed with an x-ray. However, the x-ray also showed a mass, which a biopsy confirmed was cancerous. They told him and his mother and J.J. was worried about going bald, prompting Link to cut his own hair and let J.J. help him. ("Flowers Grow Out of My Grave")

During the wind storm, Levi was sent to the clinic with Nico to clear it of patients. He and Nico argued over a patient as they worked, but Levi insisted he could handle it because he had experience. After taking a patient to peds, Nico came back to make sure Levi got back okay. After Levi said he'd wait it out in the clinic, Nico went to leave and got swept away as soon as he took one step outside. Levi crawled to him and then helped him get into a nearby ambulance. In the ambulance, Levi said he didn't know he was gay when he was young because he didn't have opportunity to explore the feelings he had. After his speech, Nico kissed him again. Then they had sex in the ambulance. ("Blowin' in the Wind")

After the storm had calmed somewhat, they were startled when Alex came into the ambulance to escape the wind as they were getting dressed. They worried they'd be fired. Levi helped while Link and Jackson operated on Jed Lundberg, who had had his legs crushed by the elevator, and found a way to let him keep both his legs. After his surgery, Jed had nerve function in his foot, which was a sign the surgery worked. At the end of the day, Alex told them what they did was unacceptable and instructed them to use rooms with locks in the future. ("Shelter from the Storm")

After Owen was accidentally injected with a sedative during Claire Conway's surgery, Levi intubated him and moved him to a room, where he continued to monitor Owen and give him fluids until the sedative wore off. He then extubated Owen. This incident inspired him to start wearing contacts instead of glasses so he could look as confident as he felt, though he needed Taryn's help to put them in. ("Help, I'm Alive")

Levi started his ICU rotation while Natasha Deon was in the ICU after her accident. Every day, he examined her and gave report on her condition. When she needed surgery, he scrubbed in to assist. After she and Garrett decided to have her ventilator turned off, Levi was present at their last-minute wedding and her death. ("Girlfriend in a Coma")

Levi worked on the case of Kimberly Thompson. He was engaged in the drama between her and Maggie, whom she had bullied in medical school. ("I Walk the Line")

Levi worked with Nico to prepare for an upcoming hip replacement, but when a mass overdose brought a flood of patients to the ER, the surgery was rescheduled and Levi and Nico instead operated on a patient who had had a drug overdose and fell, which broke both her arms. ("I Want a New Drug")

Levi was on the case of Hunter Martinez, but was removed from the case when Jo asked to be put on the surgery. Levi was upset, because he knew Jo was getting preferential treatment, but then she pointed out that he was only on the case himself because of Nico. ("Blood and Water")

Levi helped treat Douglas Hall, who came into the ER after a car accident with his wife. He had fractures to his clavicle and humerus, but was otherwise okay. ("And Dream of Sheep")

Jackson was treating Rick, who had been burned over a large portion of his body. He decided to use fish skin to graft the burns and had the interns skin the fish. When Richard learned the rest of the fish was being put in medical waste, he decided to host a fish fry and invited the interns. ("And Dream of Sheep")

After Maggie introduced the new mood rooms, Levi waited in one to take Bailey's blood pressure after she played tetris. However, they were all called away by Dahlia, who wanted help competing in math problems against Nora Hillridge. ("Add It Up")

Levi helped with the case of Caleb Hicks, who was at the hospital for an abdominal wall, penis, and scrotum transplant. ("The Whole Package")

Levi assisted on Josh Sterman's surgery. When Nico made an error, Josh collapsed after surgery and died in the OR as Maggie tried to repair the damage. Nico snapped at Levi when Levi tried to console him. ("Head Over High Heels")

While at a flower shop to buy flowers for Nico, Levi met and talked to Lucas Ripley. ("Friendly Fire") When he was leaving the flower shop, he saw that Ripley had collapsed on the sidewalk and he stepped in to help. He rode with Ripley to the hospital, where he was identified. Levi hailed himself a hero for saving the Fire Chief. He tried to share his success with Nico, but Nico responded coldly to him. Levi continued to press him, but stopped when Link said what Nico was going through is unlike anything else and he needs to be allowed to process it on his own. ("What I Did for Love") After learning that Ripley had died, Levi purchased the same flowers he'd bought for Vic and came to the station on the day of the funeral to talk to her and explain to her what Ripley hoped to say with the flowers. ("For Whom the Bell Tolls")

When Frances Pinfield came to the US to donate blood to Gus Carter, Levi went to meet her at the airport, but reported that Frances was struggling just to get off the plane. With Owen's help, they were able to get her to the car, but on the way to the hospital, a fog settled in and they were stuck in traffic and accidents. ("Drawn to the Blood")

After things settled, they left the car. Owen said he'd carry Frances to a nearby ambulance, which they'd use to get to the hospital. Owen was able to convince the paramedics to go along with this by treating the patient they were working on. At the hospital, Levi brought Frances juice and cookies while her blood was extracted. ("Jump Into the Fog")

Jo Wilson
He had a one-night stand with Jo Wilson after coming to the bar to apologize to her. ("Break Down the House")

He later returned her badge to her, which embarrassed her. When he came to her later about a potential donor he had found, she took the case from him, upsetting him. ("Get Off on the Pain")

After finding out from Olivia Jankovic that Alex had had syphilis in the past, he was worried he should get himself checked. Jo assured him she didn't have syphilis. ("Bad Reputation")

Nico Kim
Nico winked at Levi while operating, which confused him. ("With a Wonder and a Wild Desire")

Later, at Joe's bar, Nico bought him a beer after a rough day. Levi wanted to pay him back and grabbed his wallet, but Nico touched his hand to stop him and said Levi could buy the next one. Nico then left, with Levi staring after him. ("Broken Together") Nico later came into the residents' locker room to shower despite having access to the fellows' lounge and Levi was shocked and distracted by seeing Nico with no shirt. ("Gut Feeling")

Later, Nico then asked Levi if he would be willing to get that drink that evening, but Levi said he might have plans later. Nico just said he'd be a Joe's if his thing got cancelled. Later, Levi came to the bar for that drink, but Nico mostly brushed him off, confusing Levi. ("Everyday Angel")

After working together on J.J. Williams, Levi and Nico ended up in an elevator together and they kissed. They stopped when someone else got on the elevator, but once they were alone again, Nico apologized for what he'd done. Levi said it was fine and also that it was his first time and he was happy to learn. However, Nico said he didn't want to teach him. ("Flowers Grow Out of My Grave")

After being trapped together in an ambulance during the windstorm, Levi talked about having feelings for men before, but never exploring it because he was a nerd and never considered sex much at all. After his confession, Nico kissed him and the two of them had sex in the ambulance. ("Blowin' in the Wind")

Their relationship continued to develop. Levi ultimately declared himself gay and happy while he was assisting on a surgery. ("Girlfriend in a Coma")

When Levi's mother called while he was hooking up with Nico, Nico was upset when Levi shushed him. Levi tried to explain why his mother didn't know about Nico, but Nico wasn't persuaded and left. Later that day, Levi explained to Nico that his mother likes to talk about everything as if it's going to hurt him and he wants to lock Nico in in his own eyes before inviting his mother's criticisms because Nico's his first love. Hearing that Levi loved him, Nico kissed him and they started to walk away. Levi asked if he's not going to say it back. He said he would, but he wanted to make Levi sweat for a minute first. ("Blood and Water")

Levi learned that Nico had an upcoming job interview with a hospital in San Francisco, and expressed worry about a long-distance relationship through bringing up sports teams. While together on a case in which Nico had to fill the man's body with cement, Levi continued complaining about Nico's proposed move. Later, it was revealed that Nico made a mistake during the surgery, and the patient collapsed. Bailey ordered Levi to fix the man, as he was the grandson of a friend of hers, but things didn't go well, and the patient died. Later, Nico was about to do a Skype interview with his new prospective boss, and Levi attempted to persuade him to leave and re-schedule the interview. Nico spoke sharply to Levi, saying that he was not a failure, and implied that Levi is, which broke his heart. Levi was angered when Nico started the interview, and slammed the door behind him. ("Head Over High Heels")

Nico was annoyed that he is relegated to simple tasks in the wake of his surgical error. Levi, on a high due to him saving the Seattle Fire Chief, ran to tell Nico about it. However, Nico didn't want to hear it and was rude to Levi, and demanded Levi's help in fixing a shoulder dislocation. Later, Link told Levi to leave Nico alone, and that if he wanted to talk, he should wait for him to say so. ("What I Did for Love")

Nico later realized via Link that his past behavior had been unacceptable, in the wake of a fog throughout Seattle, which led to a massive car pile-up on the freeway. He tracked Levi down, only for Levi to give him the cold shoulder, which immediately turned into lecturing on Levi's end when Nico informed him that he missed him. Levi told Nico about his day, and Nico listened, which culminated in Levi informing Nico that he loved him, but he still deserved better than how Nico had treated him. Nico came clean about his personal anger due to his failure, and that he was jealous of other doctors in the hospital, Levi especially, due to their ability to bond with patients and have successful moments. Levi immediately told Nico that he could help him, and wanted to. Later, the two tearfully watched My Girl in Levi's basement, and his mother came downstairs with chicken noodle soup. She was very welcoming towards Nico, but called him Levi's "friend". Levi immediately informed his mother that Nico was his boyfriend that Nico was the one who has been having a bad day. Mrs. Schmitt then offered up the chicken soup to Nico, after he informed her that he liked it, telling Levi that they would talk later. Nico told Levi that he was "amazing," and Levi put his head on Nico's shoulder. ("Jump Into the Fog")

Familial
He lives in his mother's basement. ("Get Off on the Pain")

Career
Levi first came to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital as a fourth-year medical student doing a six-week rotation as a sub-intern. Later, he interviewed for a spot in the hospital's residency program and was accepted.

Notes and Trivia

 * Levi is in the top 10% of his medical school program.
 * Levi had a tendency to let his glasses slip off from his face, something he resolved with a sports band.
 * Due to a high cost of living and medical school, Levi lives at the basement of his mother's house.
 * Meredith compared him to George when she slept with the latter during intern-year when she found out about Jo sleeping with the former.
 * Prior to living with Meredith, George also lived in his parents' house.
 * His blood type is O-.
 * He is the first Grey's Anatomy character to meet Andy Herrera on screen.
 * He is Jewish.