The Deadbolt Interview - Season 5 DVD Surgery with Grey's Anatomy Doctor Sandra Oh

Season 5 DVD Surgery with Grey's Anatomy Doctor Sandra Oh
by Reg Seeton

Grey's Anatomy With the season five DVD of Grey’s Anatomy already out in the medical TV to DVD marketplace as of September 15 and the sixth season of Grey’s Anatomy already underway on ABC as of September 24, Grey’s actress Sandra Oh is back in medical action for a new season of TV surgery.

As fans can now sink into Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Fifth Season on DVD as they keep pace with the new season, we sat down for a chat with series regular Sandra Oh. Was the actress happy to see romance blossom in her character’s life? Does Sandra think she would make a good doctor? And why exactly did she sign up for the medical drama?

Cristina found love in season five of Grey’s Anatomy, but was romance going to soften her character?

SANDRA OH: No way. There is an episode in season five where the beautiful Faye Dunaway comes onto our show. She played the first female surgeon of Seattle Grace and there’s a wonderful old school/new school head-to-head battle. Cristina goes for Faye Dunaway’s character, so you still see vintage Cristina, which I just adore playing.

How did it feel to act against such a legend?

SANDRA: It was fantastic. It's hard because you try to erase all this iconography out of your head when you're facing her, but to be in the presence of Faye Dunaway was fascinating. I'm so blessed to be able to say that in my career. That woman understands everything going on and it's really interesting to see her act up close. She is amazing.

Were you sad when Kate Walsh and Isaiah Washington left Grey’s Anatomy?

SANDRA: Life tumbles on. I have no control over these things and the dynamic certainly changed within the cast and the show when they left. However, we've all learned to roll along with these changes.

Were you excited to discover Cristina found a new love interest that season?

SANDRA: I was really pleased with it because she has had a very long, dry spell. You know what? I appreciate the way that Cristina was alone for a while, because she’s not the kind of character that would hop into bed with someone immediately after such a significant relationship. In the fourth season, Cristina’s storyline was more about her being frustrated with her desire to rise up in the cardiothoracic world ... In the fifth season, they changed direction and you see her relationship with Owen Hunt grow. I definitely welcomed the storyline and I’m very pleased with it. I’m also very pleased that I got to work alongside Kevin McKidd [who plays Owen Hunt in the show]. I think he’s a wonderful actor.

Do you sometimes pinch yourself that you're in a long-running show with a contract of two more years?

SANDRA: For sure. When we first started on the show, it was really tough because there was a lot of work involved in bringing Grey’s Anatomy to the screen. The first three years were full on. You would wake up, go to work, then go to sleep and wake up for work again. It was non-stop, but they’ve started to make it easier on us now. I'm supremely thankful and grateful to see what's going on.

How did you cope with the pressure in the first three years?

SANDRA: This is a very individual and very personal question - and I can't speak for anyone except myself. Taking care of my health was paramount. It was exhausting and your adrenals are shot, but everyone was on a steep learning curve back then. Not only the actors, but the crew and the writers as well. Everyone.

Do you think that TV offers more for actors these days?

SANDRA: That's a very interesting and multi-layered question. I have always found television welcoming and I think television is 10 to 15 years ahead of casting compared to films. Independent films are where I spent most of my life, but I’m not talking about that here. I’m talking about the giant, $200,000 gazillion films where they have two to three bankable stars. That's the way those machines are run, but they have not necessarily welcomed my skill set into its fold, so I'm not going to go there.

So why did you sign up for Grey’s Anatomy?

SANDRA: I'm very proud of this show and I think it came along at the right time for me. It’s a changing time on television because five or ten years ago you wouldn't have a major network show where half of the cast were not white. I’ve got to bring up Slumdog Millionaire for a second here. There's a lot of talk about why certain companies let the film go or wanted to make it straight to video - but I’m so glad that someone said, "No, I can do something with this." I don’t think a lot of people saw that vision. They just thought, ‘What are we going to do with a film filled with brown people that no one knows?’ Someone saw its potential and look what happens. I think that’s great. I think Grey’s Anatomy is similar in some ways because our casting has changed television. It’s great to see such a mixed cast together on a show.

Has your medical knowledge improved after working on the show for so long?

SANDRA: I think I’ve become much more of a hypochondriac because you know a symptom could mean a million things. And then I get scared that it’s a million things! I know more general things about the body, but my medical knowledge hasn’t really expanded.

Did you ever consider being a doctor when you were growing up?

SANDRA: Oh, no. I was terrible at math. All my parents’ dreams and hopes for me to be a doctor quickly vanished around junior high, where I discovered I was not the science and math kid. Nope. But I will say now, having done this for a while, that it’s a really important job and it’s really hard. I feel there’s such great honor in being a good doctor. I never thought about doctors when I was younger, but I think about it much more since being on the show.

Is there any particular place you like to rest on the set?

SANDRA: Interesting question! Well, there are plenty of beds around, but I don’t like to lie down in front of the crew because they can’t lie down. But every now and then I take ten minutes to myself when they’re setting up. I’ll pull the curtain around the bed and relax. We also have a massage chair on the set. It’s actually for the crew, but you can sit in it if you want to.

Life on set seems incredibly busy... Is there ever time for jokes?

SANDRA: Oh, sure. We work hard on the set, but we also have time for fun every now and then. One of my funniest memories happened during season five when I was filming a scene with Kevin McKidd. We’re supposed to walk slowly towards each other, looking deep into each other’s eyes. It was a slushy scene. They had to film it from loads of different angles - but at one point, Kevin walks towards me when someone in the crew cranked up a Barry White song. You can see Kevin’s face thinking, ‘What’s going on here? I’m just going to keep on acting.’ And then he gets the joke and starts to crack up into laughter. It was really funny. The editors cut together this entire video of Owen and Cristina falling in love to a Barry White soundtrack. I believe it’s on YouTube. It’s hilarious.

-- Reg Seeton