According to the Orange County Register, the lovely Kate Walsh has more than a little in common with the sexy neonatal surgeon she plays on ABC's hit medical drama, Grey's Anatomy:

Love issues.

"Sometimes I feel like, 'What am I doing? Am I becoming my character, or is my character becoming me?'" Kate Walsh tells Best Life magazine.

"I'm starting to get a little superstitious here. I definitely identify with my character in that, romantically at least, this is not where I thought I'd be at 39."

Walsh was a regular on The Drew Carey Show and appeared on other series including Karen Sisco and The Fugitive before getting her big break on Grey's Anatomy.

Last month, ABC said it was planning a special two-hour episode featuring Walsh and guest star Taye Diggs, as a test run for a possible new series.

"I feel torn between having the time of my life and wanting very serious things, like a surplus of love for a family and all that," Walsh said.

"But what's in front of me right now is work."

Walsh finds the boundaries between herself and her character beginning to blur, perhaps a bit more than feels entirely comfortable.

"With an hour-long drama, you start playing a little closer to who you are, because the writers hear you and are around you and they start writing for you," she says.

Asked for her reaction to the blowup over castmate Isaiah Washington's anti-gay slur about co-star T.R. Knight, Walsh says there has been no fallout on the set, really, and that what she's disappointed the cast's accomplishments are being overshadowed.

"It was definitely sad. It's annoying. And it eclipsed our Golden Globe win, which I was upset about," Walsh said.

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.