Sandra Oh reflected on her exit from the long-running series "Grey's Anatomy," describing the ability to plan her departure as an "extremely rare" gift.
During an appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's podcast "Dinner's On Me," Oh recounted a conversation with creator Shonda Rhimes toward the end of her time on the show, around seasons 8 or 9, when contracts were being renegotiated. Rhimes reportedly asked Oh what she wanted to do, to which Oh responded that she needed time to consider.
Oh, who played Dr. Cristina Yang for a decade, felt she had developed the character in a believable way over 10 years. "I created a whole character," Oh said. "I feel I grew the character over 10 years’ time, where it’s a believable growth. People do grow in 10 years, and I think she really did grow."
The actress emphasized the privilege of having a planned exit, which allowed writers to support her departure. "The privilege was to actually plan an exit and all the writers to be able to plan and to support that," Oh stated. "I know that it’s extremely rare to have. That was a real gift."
She added, "I was really very fortunate. You build the relationships, hopefully, or the circumstances to happen."
In contrast, co-star Ellen Pompeo had publicly expressed a desire for her own exit and for the show to conclude on multiple occasions. "I’ve been trying to convince everybody that it should end," Pompeo told Insider in 2021. "I feel like I’m the super naive one who keeps saying, ‘But what’s the story going to be, what story are we going to tell?’ And everyone’s like, ‘Who cares, Ellen? It makes a gazillion dollars.’" Pompeo ultimately departed the series in 2022 after 19 seasons.