Sandra Oh Says Starring on Grey's Anatomy Was A 'Traumatic' Experience

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Sandra Oh is getting candid about working on ABC's Grey's Anatomy.

In an interview with Sunday Today With Willie Geist, the star spoke about the repercussions of working on such a successful series.

“To be perfectly honest, it was traumatic. It was traumatic,” The Chair star explained.

Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang Pic

“And the reason why I’m saying that is the circumstances you need to do your work is with a lot of privacy."

"So when one loses one’s anonymity, you have to build skills to still try and be real," Oh shared of being recognized.

"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.”

Sandra Oh Flaunts Her Golden Globe

She went on to say that she has "a good therapist," something that is "very important" to her.

The star, who also leads the cast of Killing Eve, said that she had to learn how to set proper boundaries in her professional life.

“You just have to work at finding your way to stay grounded,” she said.

“And a lot of times that’s by saying no.”

Sandra Oh Accepts Award

Oh was with Grey's Anatomy from the beginning (2005) and officially exited after 10 seasons in 2014.

While the show has mentioned the character of Cristina multiple times, Oh has not returned since, unlike many of her former co-stars.

The actress has been vocal about moving forward with her life and that she is unlikely to return in any capacity.

“No,” Oh said earlier this year on the Asian Enough podcast.

A Waiting Game - Killing Eve Season 3 Episode 8

“I love it, though, and this is also why I really appreciate the show … that I still get asked this.”

“It’s very rare, I would say, to be able to see in such a way the impact of a character,” she said.

“In some ways, you do your work as a bubble and you let it go. 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.”

The actress asked fans to follow her to her new projects.

Ticket Booth - Killing Eve Season 3 Episode 8

“So please come with me to Killing Eve and on to The Chair and on to the other projects,” she said.

“Come see the characters that I’m playing that are much more deeply integrated in … the Asian American experience.

Killing Eve's final season is in the early stages of production and will be airing on AMC/BBC America next year.

The Chair recently launched on Netflix.

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.

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