Sandra Oh’s thoughts and feelings after her final day of filming Grey’s Anatomy have been revealed alongside the ‘truth’ behind the fan-favourite’s possible return.
The 54-year-old actress is having a big year - voicing Moxie in the rebooted Smurfs movie, starring in Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut Good Fortune, working on Invincible season three, and soon appearing in the 2025 production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
She’s also been doing a slew of press, including a telling interview with The New York Times discussing her final outing as Dr. Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy.
Sandra portrayed the cardiothoracic surgical fellow at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for ten seasons between 2005 and 2014.
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On her final episode, ‘She’s Leaving Home’, the ambitious doctor said farewell to Washington, ultimately swapping Seattle for the Klausman Institute for Medical Research in Zurich, Switzerland.
Dr. Yang has not made an appearance in Grey’s Anatomy since departing; however, she has been mentioned by name and even had a phone call with the show’s titular character, Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo).
In an intimate interview, Sandra has disclosed a diary entry from April 25, 2014 - the day after the Killing Eve icon officially wrapped on her time as Dr. Yang.
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“Yesterday was my very last day of work on Grey’s Anatomy. It was joyous,” it read.
“I waited for my call time. I felt excited and jumpy to get to work. I had my hug from Laura and my first-last makeup from Norm [Norman Leavitt].
“Desiree [Dizard] and I danced to Michael Jackson in the trailer. It was fun. I passed everything out and wrote some more cards.”
Sandra wrote that after busting a move to MJ, she participated in a ‘lousy lunch’ and took ‘lots of pictures’ and received ‘lots of hugs’ from her Grey’s Anatomy family.
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“Then after lunch they surprised me with the ceremony-thingy for me. Tony [Goldwyn] and Joan [Rater] — cake sheet and cider. Very lousy and cheap and wonderful.”
When asked to explain why she described leaving Grey’s Anatomy as ‘joyous’, Sandra said it was because her departure was on her terms.
“I’m still figuring out what that decade of my life was. Not everyone gets to know that they’re leaving a show,” she told the outlet.
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“I was in a very, very fortuitous position, and I took advantage of it fully, meaning that I wanted to leave well.”
The two-time Golden Globe winner said leaving Grey’s Anatomy was one of the ‘proudest things that [she] has in [her] life’.
“I was as conscious as possible with all the crew members and actually even with the public. It was basically to help people say goodbye as I was saying goodbye,” she added.
Sandra has hinted in the past that she may return to the Shondaland creation to reprise her role as Dr. Yang.
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However, the star used the chat to put speculation to bed once and for all.
She said that she has a ‘deep appreciation’ for people who ‘appreciate’ her character, which led her to think fans really wanted her back on the scene.
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“And for the first time, that’s when I started opening up the idea. But I think to really be true to the people who enjoy your work, you have to be true to yourself. So at this point, I don’t think so.”
While we may not have any new episodes of Grey’s Anatomy starring Sandra Oh anytime soon, we do have a whopping 220 instalments where her character does feature.
These are currently available to stream via Disney+ in the UK.
The medical drama concluded its 21st season in May. The 22nd is currently scheduled for release on 16 October.
Topics: Grey's Anatomy, Celebrity, Entertainment, TV And Film, US News
Ella Scott