Sandra Oh Says Goodbye To Grey’s Anatomy
August 14, 2013 by Lindsay Cronin
Sandra Oh is saying goodbye to Grey’s Anatomy after 10 years with the series. Sandra, who plays Cristina Yang on the hit ABC drama, will be parting ways with the show in 2014 following an amazing run topped off with five Emmy nominations and one Golden Globe win.
“It’s been a great privilege to play the character of Cristina Yang on GA and I am both sad and excited to see where this, her final season will take her,” Oh said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “It was an emotional and deeply creative decision for me and I feel fully supported by Shonda and the writers. It’s so rare in an actor’s life to be able to explore and grow a character so fully, so completely. I am profoundly grateful to everyone at GA for the opportunity.”
“Creatively, I really feel like I gave it my all, and I feel ready to let her go,” Oh explained of her character. “It’s such an interesting thing to play a character for so long and to actually get the sense that she wants to be let go as well. [Cristina] wants to be let go, and I am ready to let her go. We have to start the process, story-wise, for the Grey’s writers to think of why she’s going to go.”
Of her exit, the staff and producers at Grey’s Anatomy only had kind words, praising Oh both for her interpretation of the character and what she brought to the set of the show.
“One of the best days of my life as a writer happened the day Sandra Oh walked in my door to audition and forever changed the course of Grey’s Anatomy with her brilliant, nuanced portrayal of Cristina Yang,” Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rimes added. “Over the past ten seasons, I have been made better by Sandra’s trust, faith and friendship and I can’t quantify how grateful I am for her collaboration on a character we both love so deeply. This year is going to be bittersweet for us — we’re both going to savor every moment of Cristina Yang and then we’re going to give her the exit she deserves. And when Sandra walks out of my door, Grey’s Anatomy will be once again be forever changed.”
Despite Oh’s exit from the series, Grey’s Anatomy will go on. A rep for ABC confirmed, “It’s our intention to have Grey’s on the air for many years to come, with as many of the original cast as possible.”