Sandra Oh reflects on 20 years of “Grey's Anatomy”, hot dogs, and leaving Cristina Yang behind (for now?)

Key Points

• Sandra Oh recalls auditioning for a different role than Christina Yang and filming early seasons of the ABC hit.

• The actress relives iconic Christina moments, including the hot dog eating contest, that emotional wedding dress scene, and "Somebody sedate me!"

• The star addresses whether she'd ever return to the drama, which celebrates 20 years this month.

It's been 20 years since her intelligent and ambitious Christina Yang rode into the Grey's Anatomy pilot on her motorcycle — and a decade since she left Ellen Pompeo's Meredith (and the show) with a reminder that she is the sun — but Sandra Oh still knows the value of "dancing it out."

"I love dancing it out, it's a big part of my life," the actress tells Entertainment Weekly during an hour-long conversation reflecting on two decades of her ABC medical drama and Shondaland, the production company started by Grey's mastermind Shonda Rhimes. "It feels very special to, 20 years later, celebrate all that Shonda and [producing partner] Betsy Beers have built, which is really, really significant."

Here, Oh — who next stars in The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night at Central Park's newly refurbished Delacorte Theater — recalls her unconventional audition process (for another role!), some of Christina's most iconic moments, her lengthy decision process ahead of leaving Grey's in 2014, and whether her "hard no" stance on returning to the show still stands.

Related: Shonda Rhimes dishes on her best episodes, biggest battles, and the spinoff ideas that never happened

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What made Grey's something you wanted to audition for?

SANDRA OH: It's just so funny, I remember telling a good friend of mine that I was auditioning for Grey's, and she goes, "Oh, a medical drama? It'll never go." I had done [Arli$$] on HBO for seven years and had wanted to step out and do film. But there was not really great opportunity or access for me in film at the time, and that is including Sideways. There was a year that I shot four films, but really I only worked four weeks. And you know me, that's just not enough. I want to work. So I decided I wanted to try a network show out.

What was the audition process like?

I have to tell you, I really, really remember it. I remember where people were even sitting in the room, and I wore scrubs! I originally came in for Bailey, and I did my own interpretation, which was extremely different from what Chandra Wilson [did when cast in the role]. And they said, "Okay, great. Come back in, we'd like to see you test [for the network executives]." But every so often you just need to grow. You need to push yourself. And the role of Bailey wasn't resonating for me so much, so I was like, "Who's playing Christina?" And it was not cast. I thought that there was a lot of real dramatic gold in that character. In the pilot, she's the antagonist, and I was very much interested in playing someone who I felt was not very much like myself. I just thought, That's the role. So I said, "I'm happy to come in, but I'm not interested in Bailey. I would really like to try for Christina." And they were open to it.

And the rest is history?

Well, I had a pre-audition before actually doing the test, so they could see what I was going to do with the role. And I have very, very good representation, and they told me just to leave the test. So I actually never tested for Christina. I had a little bit of an audition for Shonda, Betsy, and [director Peter Horton,] and I left — and then they offered it to me!

What was it like filming that first nine-episode season? And how did you feel the character of Christina evolve over that time?

What was great is that it was written in a way that if it was just nine episodes, it would still be a good show. And I felt that the character of Christina was laid out really, really well. I'm really proud that the elements of Christina in the pilot still remain, I think, in the last episode that she appears in. And I think that's true of people: There are certain characteristics that just don't ever change. What I discovered filming the pilot — and kept throughout — was a certain type of humor, a certain type of dryness. But what did have an impact was how the friendships between all five of the interns grew, and then the [romantic] relationships. In some ways, Christina, at the very beginning in the pilot, isn't a very warm character. She doesn't have an understanding of how to be relational. And it's really the friendships that make her a fuller person, a deeper person. She used to put her ambitions and need to be right first. That eventually softened because of the relationships that grew over the 10 years that Christina was on television.

Related: Shonda Rhimes reveals the Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal spinoffs that could have been

Christina and Meredith often bonded over dancing out their problems, which they started doing as early as season 1, episode 5. Did you all have a feeling then that it would be something that would take off with viewers?

One of Shonda's greatest instincts and powers is her uncanny ability to really know what's going to resonate with an audience. And I did not. But it makes sense. Dancing with your friends is a really important part of being a young person — of being human — so it's very relatable. I also loved being able to use my full body to express the character. You can dance out your pain, your hurt, your sadness, your joy, your lust. It was such a bonding thing between them.

We also have to talk about the "Somebody sedate me!" scene from season 2....

Oh, man. Poor T.R. Knight.... [laughs] Basically, here's a woman who is going through a breakdown, right? It's very sad and serious. But its ultimately a large expression coming through a format that she is not used to, which is non-stop crying, which is also very funny because her character is still the same, she wants this to stop. I remember I was absolutely crying, crying non-stop. And I think there's something really funny in that, especially when someone is really trying not to cry.

That has to be one of the most meme'd Grey's moments. That and Christina winning the hot dog eating contest later that season.

God, yes! I gotta tell you, those two scenes are such strong examples of character, of exactly who Christina unabashedly is. It's like, "I'm going to eat the hot dog, and I'm going to eat it like this." And someone who's having a breakdown and crying non-stop, but yelling at people to sedate her.... I just think that says so much about a character.

Another key moment is Christina getting cut out of her wedding dress after Burke (Isaiah Washington) leaves her at the alter in the season 3 finale.

That was a hard scene to film. I remember talking to some of the writers at the time and how they said that they really didn't understand my line "I'm free. I'm free." And I just remember I really understood it. And I'm pretty positive that Shonda was like, "No, it has to be that line." It was a very, very emotional shoot. And it was also such a beautiful way to show Christina and Meredith's friendship — how a friendship between these two women will surpass the idea of any relationship with a man. It was going to be the two of them. That scene and "You're my person," those really cemented, and put in the forefront, what I also deeply believe that a lot of the show is about: female friendships.

Season 4 is when there started to be a lot of goings and comings in the cast. Was that invigorating, or did you yearn for when it was just the original cast?

Honestly, we needed it. The way that the show was going and growing, we couldn't sustain it with the smaller cast and the amount of time that people had to be working. And also, it just creates drama and new dynamics — especially when you get those great love triangles. So I was always happy for all of that. Some things the show tried out might have not have worked, and then they went away. People absolutely came, people left. I think lots of characters died. But the writers were always trying to find interesting ways just to keep the show going. And I'm so happy for it. I mean, again, here we are more than 20 years later, and I think the show's really still going strong. You always eventually need new people, new ideas to breathe in new life.

What about your own decision to leave the show at the end of season 10?

I took it very, very seriously. I really had a lot of contemplative time to figure out what it was that I wanted and needed. I knew in my gut that I had done as much as I could. I really, really felt I did my job. I also was very, very cognizant that not many actors get to do this: create a full character and really live through their life, and then actually make the choice to come to a close.

How long did you feel that way?

It was probably around season 8, because there was just a natural break — a [contract] renegotiation happening. I had a real heart-to-heart talk with Shonda, and she was great. She was like, "What do you want to do?" I'm so grateful at that point in our relationship she had enough confidence and trust and respect in me to say, "This is your choice." And so I took it really seriously. I remember I was at my sister's house in Vancouver and walking deep in the woods, trying to figure out what I really wanted to do. But that was the right decision for me. I felt like, "I think I'm ready."

So you knew seasons in advance....

It creatively gave the writers a runway, so they could plan. And I think that they planned it beautifully. It also gave me time to move the audience with me to say goodbye to this character and wish her well. And I think that — at least I hope — myself and the writers, we did that.

Related: Katherine Heigl, Jeffrey Dean Morgan reunite to talk Grey's Anatomy, from Denny's death to ghost sex

In a recent interview, Ellen Pompeo said Christina's final scene is the one that's made her the most emotional while working on the show.

Oh wow! That's means so much. One of their final moments is dancing it out, and that was a deep, ritualistic way for me to physicalize a goodbye. Yes, as Christina, but also for me, as the actor. That was actually not my last scene that I shot, but that being the last scene that you'll see Meredith and Christina together, I was just so hyper aware of it and wanting to process it. It was a beautiful, beautiful goodbye.

You've not appeared on the show since then, but do you like how Christina still exists as a support system for Meredith through texts and other written correspondence? And do you envision a scenario in which you'd actually physically appear as Christina ever again?

I am glad for the show to use the character as they see fit. Absolutely. The character should still be there to service the story— and so, yay! As for actually physically inhabiting the character of Christina and coming back.... For the longest time, it has always been a hard no. And it's just.... I don't know. I just don't know. When you finish something, it's a deep process.... I just cannot tell you.... I can't stress to you enough how consciously I tried to fully process leaving. I don't feel the need to revisit, but I also profoundly understand the audience's love for this character, because I've seen it for the past 10 years. That's the part that makes me just go, hmmm.

What fan reactions do you still get that are the most rewarding?

There was this one woman in Toronto, she came up to me when I was standing on a sidewalk and she shared her health journey and how much the show had been a support to her though that. We do what we do to connect with people and bring them joy and humanity and pathos, so to have that mirrored back to me was so profound. I had been gone from the show for a long time, so it really meant a lot that it still had that impact. And I also meet people who say it inspired them to go into the health field. That thrills me, that this show that Shonda put together 20 years ago could have such an impact. All she and Betsy have done — opening up worlds and inviting so many different people in to tell stories — I hope that she absolutely keeps making it for another 20 years.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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