Sandra Oh has shed new light on whether she would consider returning to Grey’s Anatomy.
Oh, who played Dr. Cristina Yang on the hit medical drama for 10 years, received five Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her work on creator Shonda Rhimes’s long-running drama.
Speaking to The New York Times in a new interview, Oh revealed a journal entry she penned April 25th, 2014, the day after she completed filming the show.
“Yesterday was my very last day of work on Grey’s Anatomy. It was joyous,” the journal entry read. Oh “felt excited and jumpy to get to work” and recalled dancing to Michael Jackson in her trailer.
“Took lots of pictures. Lots of hugs,” she continued. “Then after lunch they surprised me with the ceremony-thingy for me. Tony and Joan — cake sheet and cider. Very lousy and cheap and wonderful.”
When asked by the Times why she described the day as “joyous,” Oh said: “I’m still figuring out what that decade of my life was. Not everyone gets to know that they’re leaving a show. I was in a very, very fortuitous position, and I took advantage of it fully, meaning that I wanted to leave well.
“And I think that for me, one of the proudest things that I have in my life is how I left the show,” she continued. “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.”
Oh first rose to fame in 2005 with a leading role on Shonda Rhimes’s hugely popular medical drama, in which her character, cut-throat surgeon Dr. Cristina Yang, was best friends with protagonist Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo).
She starred on the show for 10 seasons before exiting in 2014. Since then, fans have been desperate to see her character return.
In that vein, Oh clarified comments made earlier this year that she would consider going back to the show.
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Taking the opportunity to “redefine” what it would take for her to go back to the show, Oh said: “What I have noticed — this is 10 years out from leaving the show — is the deep appreciation that I have for the people who appreciate Cristina, and it is that love that has made me go, Oh, the fans really, really, really want it. 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,” she confirmed.
Season 22 of Grey’s Anatomy is slated to premiere in the fall, months after fans were left on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger about the fate of one major character.
