'One of the greatest gifts of my creative life has been the opportunity to write words to be spoken by Sandra Oh.'
Shonda Rhimes has nothing but praise for Sandra Oh!
On Wednesday, the 47-year-old actress was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People along with the likes of Michelle Obama, Emilia Clarke, Lady Gaga and Chrissy Teigen. Oh also scored one of six covers for this year's magazine, the others of which went to Taylor Swift, Dwayne Johnson, Gayle King, politician Nancy Pelosi and soccer star Mohamed Salah.
In honor of Oh's accomplishment, Rhimes, the creator of Grey's Anatomy on which Oh starred from 2005 to 2014, penned a sweet essay honoring Oh's acting abilities, comedic timing and positive influence in the world.
"One of the greatest gifts of my creative life has been the opportunity to write words to be spoken by Sandra Oh," Rhimes gushes in her essay "... Sandra Oh is a virtuoso."
"She treats dialogue like notes of music -- every word must be played, every syllable correctly," Rhimes writes, before turning her attention to Oh's "extraordinary" acting accomplishments with "nuanced characters" on both Grey's and Killing Eve.
"10 years of playing Dr. Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy made her place in the acting landscape undeniable," Rhimes points out. "Her award-winning turn as Killing Eve’s Eve Polastri makes her legendary."
Rhimes goes on to call Oh's comedic timing "priceless" and her dramatic well "endless," writing that "her talent is a song to be heard."
"Sandra Oh has chosen to fearlessly take up space in a universe that has not always made space for her," Rhimes praises. "Now, the power of her talented presence makes space for others. And that is a gift to every artist of color who follows in her footsteps."
In an interview with the magazine, Oh speaks to how she worked to make a space for herself in the industry she loves so much.
"I started acting professionally when I was 15. I'm 47 right now... It's not even so much that it took me 30 years to get the role of Eve, it takes this long to have a career," she says. "... Hopefully with that time, and with that work, eventually opportunity will come... I don't have to talk about change because my face looks the way that it does and that speaks more than I could possibly say, you know?"
"So in some ways, for me, it's about hanging in as long as I have. It's a numbers game because if you see my face again and again and again, or someone who looks like me, there is something that I believe opens up in the psyche," she continues. "And the people that we have not considered, stories we have not considered before, we have not been open to it before, suddenly we are."
Oh concludes by saying that, throughout her career, she has "been focused on and wanting is to try and get to the truth of things."
"And that is what has sustained me," she says. "And if it inspires change, then hallelujah."
Rhimes addressed her tribute to Oh on social media on Tuesday, writing, "The first time I was in the @TIME 100, @IamSandraOh wrote my tribute. Now, I could not be more proud to write a tribute to her. Sandra's forever influential to me and so many. #TIME100"
Meanwhile, Oh's Grey's co-star, Ellen Pompeo, took to Instagram to honor her friend.
"ITS ABOUT TIME. @iamsandraohinsta is celebrated for the epic talent she is!!" Pompeo wrote. "Cannot wait to read @shondarhimes love letter to her. Two women who have made such a difference in lives of women in this business who felt unseen. However incredibly talented they both are...their impact on this business has been immeasurable. Congratulations Sandra ❤️"
Watch the video below for more on Oh.
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