Sandra Ohis reflecting on her rise to fame afterGrey’s Anatomy.
Over the weekend, the 50-year-old actress appeared onSunday Today with Willie Geistand opened up about her “traumatic” experience becoming a household name after the success of the ABC medical drama.
Oh played Dr. Cristina Yang for the first 10 seasons ofGrey’sbefore announcing her departure in 2013. The performance earned her her first Golden Globe, as well as five Emmy nominations. Despite the success of the ABC series, which launched her to critical acclaim, the actress told Geist the sudden fame was definitely an adjustment.
“To be perfectly honest, it was traumatic,” Oh said. “The reason why I’m saying that is the circumstances you need to do your work is with a lot of privacy.”
She continued, "So when one loses one’s anonymity, you have to build skills to still try and be real. I went from not being able to go out, like hiding in restaurants, to then being able to manage attention, manage expectation, while not losing the sense of self."
Karen Neal/Walt Disney Television via Getty
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The actress then shared that she was able to cope with the fame and new lifestyle because she had a good therapist.
Oh leftGrey’s Anatomyseven years ago and fans have been hoping she might make a return to the series one day as season 17 of the medical drama welcomed back a number of former stars. Among those that returned werePatrick Dempseyas Derek Shepherd,T.R. Knightas George O’Malley,Chyler Leighas Lexie Grey,Eric Daneas Mark Sloan, andSarah Drewas April Kepner.
sandra oh.Getty Images
However, in May, Oh shut down the possibility of reprising her role as Cristina Yang, noting on theLos Angeles Times' podcastAsian Enoughthat she has “moved on.”
“It’s very rare, I would say, to be able to see in such a way the impact of a character. In some ways, you do your work as a bubble and you let it go,” she said at the time. “I left that show, my God, seven years ago almost. So in my mind, it’s gone. But for a lot of people, it’s still very much alive. And while I understand and I love it, I have moved on.”
“I love it, though,” she added. “And this is also why I really appreciate the show … that I still get asked this.”
FRANK OCKENFELS/ABC
Since her exit, Oh has moved on with other projects, including the hit seriesKilling Eve, whichwill returnfor a fourth and final season next year, and Netflix’s latest seriesThe Chair. She encouraged fans to follow along as she advocates for more representation of the Asian American community.
“Please come with me toKilling Eveand on toThe Chairand on to the other projects,” Oh said onAsian Enough. “Come see the characters that I’m playing that are much more deeply integrated in … the Asian American experience.”
source: people.com
