Sandra Oh has had an incredible career, and many people loved watching her portray Meredith Grey's best friend Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy. More recently, she has been praised for playing Eve Polastri on the popular drama Killing Eve. In 2018, Oh was nominated for best lead actress in a drama series, and she was the first Asian woman to receive this nomination.
Fans are waiting for season four as people enjoy the "cat and mouse" vibes and action-packed storylines.
Sandra Oh has said that she was shocked to be cast as Eve on Killing Eve. Let's take a look at what she said about getting this role.
Getting Cast As Eve
While fans would be thrilled to see Cristina Yang on Grey's, Sandra Oh said she doesn't think she would come back to the hospital drama.
Thankfully, fans can still watch her on TV as Killing Eve is still going strong.
When interviewed by Vulture, Sandra Oh said she didn't think that she was in the running to portray Eve. Sandra Oh said she didn't know what role she was trying out for, according to Stylist.co.uk. She was surprised and fans are definitely surprised to hear this, too, since she has so much talent and is incredible in every role that she takes on.
Oh said, “I was quickly scrolling down the script, and I can’t really tell you what I was looking for. “So I’m like, ‘So Nancy [her agent], I don’t understand, what’s the part?’ And Nancy goes ‘Sweetheart, it’s Eve, it’s Eve.’”
Oh said she had no idea that she would be considered for one of the main roles on the show. When talking to Vanity Fair, Oh said that she read the script and thought there would be a part for her: a receptionist or doctor.
She told Vulture, "I think about that moment a lot. Of just going, how deep have I internalized this? [So] many years of being seen [a certain way], it deeply, deeply, deeply affects us… I didn’t even assume when being offered something that I would be one of the central storytellers. Why?”
Oh shared that she was "brainwashed" because it hadn't occurred to her that they were casting her as Eve.
The Need For Diversity
Sandra Oh has always been honest about her experiences in Hollywood. When talking to Kerry Washington for an issue of Variety called "Actors on Actors," Oh said she would often talk to Shonda Rhimes and the other writers when starring on Grey's Anatomy. She wanted to make sure she was "fighting" for Cristina Yang. She also said that the show didn't touch on race, but when Cristina was marrying Burke, that meant that their moms were interacting, and since they were of Asian and Black backgrounds, she felt that should be reflected in the episodes.
Oh said, "I’m like, ‘Come on, there is a lot of story that we can do here!’ But they didn’t want to touch it, for whatever reason. Now my interest is much more in bringing that story in.”
In an interview with Vogue, Oh said, “It’s taken me 30 years to get this part. I see that so clearly.” She continued, "And they just thought of me." Oh explained that in the novellas that Killing Eve is based on, Eve seems to be white.
Oh shared that her early acting years were spent on Canadian TV shows, commercials, and industrial film. She explained, "In Canada, there’s a mandate for diversity. I was a girl, Asian, and I spoke French. I ticked all their boxes. Did I want to be cast from that point? Not really. You could always feel that you were the quota. You always had the smallest part. You’re not central to the story. But then you don’t get to be for another, whatever, 20, 30 years."
Sandra Oh has spoken out about how the industry in the UK isn't very diverse. According to Independent.co.uk, she said to Kerry Washington for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, “The UK, I’m not afraid to say, is behind. I’m not only the only Asian person on set – sometimes it changes, [it’s] very exciting when someone comes on set.”
When Kayleigh Llewellyn, a writer on Killing Eve, posted a zoom call that featured her and the other writers, people noticed that the writers' room included nine white women.
According to Variety, people started tweeting that this was problematic. One fan tweeted, "imagine how much better killing eve would be if they had a person of color in the writers' room."
Sandra Oh is an incredibly talented actress and fans definitely appreciate her wise, meaningful words when talking about her experiences in Hollywood.