Chandra Wilson, 54, shared a fun memory from her final day of auditions for Grey’s Anatomy during a panel at the Disney fan event D23 on August 11. After a successful audition for the role of Dr. Miranda Bailey with the production team, she had a five-hour break before her network audition.
Wilson said during the event, “There was like five hours between [auditions], so I went to Universal Studios and… rode some rides.” To pass the time, she went to Universal Studios and rode some rides, which amused the audience when she confessed it during the panel.
Despite the character originally being described as a “short, white blonde female,” Wilson landed the part and has played Dr. Bailey since the show’s pilot on March 27, 2005.
Wilson also shared advice her agent gave her between auditions: “take command of the room more.” She followed that advice and channeled her mother, a teacher, when performing the audition monologue. The scene involved Dr. Bailey listing her “five rules” for her intern class.
Living in New York at the time, Wilson returned to the city, thinking that at least she enjoyed a theme park. However, two days later, she learned she had landed the life-changing role.
Throughout her long run on the show, Wilson has balanced acting and directing. She directed her first Grey’s Anatomy episode in 2010 and has also directed episodes of Scandal and The Fosters.
Interestingly, she kept her day job in New York at Banker’s Trust until the show’s second season. The Station 19 actress said, “My bread and butter was my job in the document-processing department at Banker’s Trust.” She added, “When we got to season 2, my supervisor said, ‘Will you stop calling and telling us that you’re not available ’cause we see you on TV.’ “
Wilson humorously recalled on a 2021 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show how her supervisor eventually told her to stop calling in because they could see her on TV. They finally had to “force” her to leave the job.
Apart from her role in Grey’s Anatomy, Chandra Wilson has starred in several movies and TV shows throughout her career; including Philadelphia (1993), Lone Star (1996), Accidental Friendship (2008), Frankie & Alice (2010), Christmas Harmony (2018), Station 19 (2018-2024) and more.
