Sandra Oh Shares Rare ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Exit Details
Sandra Oh Shares Rare ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Exit Details
Amanda BellWed, July 29, 2026 at 6:23 PM UTC
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Sandra Oh in 'Grey's Anatomy' Season 10 - Kelsey McNeal/Everett Collection
Sandra Oh is the featured guest on the latest podcast episode of Dinner’s On Me With Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and during the conversation, the actress dove deep into behind-the-scenes details of both the start and end of her time as Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy.
First, Oh revealed that she initially read for a very different role: that of Miranda Bailey (the role that would eventually, and still, belong to Chandra Wilson).
“When I auditioned for Grey’s, I had taken off a couple of years to just do film. Didn’t work,” Oh remembered. “I did four films and maybe worked three weeks. And that was just like, ‘That’s not enough for me. I need to be working.'” After her experience in television work on Arlis$$, she knew it was time to return to the medium.
“So then this pilot came along,” Oh continued. “I actually was auditioning for Chandra Wilson’s part for Bailey…. Then I was like, ‘I know what that character is about… Are there any other characters?’ And they say, ‘Oh, the character of Cristina has not yet been cast,’ and for me, I was like, ‘That’s it. That’s the antagonist’… at least in the pilot. ‘I want to do that.'”
Oh revealed that she then went on to do a work session with Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers, as well as director Peter Horton, but her manager told her to leave because the contract wouldn’t work out. Still, she was ultimately cast in the role. “It was because I had that work session, they could see what I could do,” she guessed.
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Later, Oh then detailed what went into the decision to leave the show during Season 10.
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“Iwasreallyveryfortunate to,one,youbuildtherelationships,hopefullyforthecircumstancestohappen where, when it came time [leave you can do so on good terms]. IthinkendofSeason 8 or 9, [Rhimes]tookmeasidebecausewewereallrenegotiating,andshegoes,‘Whatdoyouwanttodo?’AndIsaid,‘Letmethinkaboutit.‘ AndIreally,really,reallythoughtaboutit.”
Oh then decided, “IfeltverymuchlikeIdidmyjob.Ireallydidmyjob.IfeellikeIcreatedawholecharacter.IfeelIgrewthecharacter,10yearstime,whereit’sabelievablegrowth. Peopledogrowin10years,andIthinkshereallydidgrow.”
The actress then reflected on the way Cristina Yang went out — getting the dream job of running her own hospital in Switzerland and still remaining in contact with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). “Theprivilegewastoactuallyplananexit,andallthewriterstobeabletoplan tosupportthat,andIknowthatitisextremelyraretohave.Sothatwasareal,realgift.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
