Learn about Sandra Oh's career ahead of 'The Misanthrope'

The Grey's Anatomy and Killing Eve star makes her London theatre debut in a new version of Molière's The Misanthrope.

Summary

• Sandra Oh is best known for her roles in Grey's Anatomy and Killing Eve
• She has appeared in several stage productions in New York
• This June she makes her London debut in The Misanthrope at the National Theatre

Oh, Sandra! Born in Nepean, Ontario in 1971 to Korean immigrant parents, Canadian-American actress Sandra Oh is best known for her roles in Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve. She studied drama at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal and, shortly after graduating, won the lead role in two television films about notable Chinese-Canadian women: author Evelyn Lau and journalist and politician Adrienne Clarkson. She also came to prominence in her native Canada in the film Double Happiness.

From 1996 to 2002, Oh starred in the HBO dark comedy series Arliss, in which she played Rita Wu, executive assistant to the president of a sports agency. She was then cast as the ambitious surgical intern and “double doctor” (MD and PhD) Cristina Yang in the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, who, in the course of the first 11 seasons of the show, progresses to become a distinguished cardiothoracic surgical fellow – with plenty of personal drama along the way. She received five nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Dr Yang.

In 2018, Oh took the title role in the BBC thriller Killing Eve, playing a British intelligence agent embroiled in a cat-and-mouse game with Jodie Comer’s ruthless hired assassin Villanelle. The dynamic between the two intertwined characters thrilled the world. Oh was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, in which she became the first actress of Asian descent to be nominated for a lead actress Emmy. She was nominated again in 2019.

Oh starred as English professor Ji-Yoon Kim in the campus comedy drama The Chair in 2021 and she recently appeared in The Sympathizer, based on the novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Her feature film credits include Under the Tuscan Sun, The Princess Diaries, Sideways, Ramona and Beezus, Rabbit Hole, Turning Red, Quiz Lady, and Good Fortune.

This June, Oh stars in a new production of Molière’s comedy The Misanthrope at the National Theatre, adapted by Martin Crimp and directed by Indhu Rubasingham. Read on to learn more about Oh’s stage credits to date.

Book The Misanthrope tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Oleanna

Oh is due to make her stage debut in London, England this summer. However, in the 1994, Oh starred in the Canadian premiere of David Mamet’s Oleanna in London, Ontario (as well as in Ottawa). In this demanding two-hander, Oh played Carol (the role originated on Broadway by Rebecca Pidgeon and in the West End by Lia Williams), a college student who is sexually harassed by her male professor.

Stop Kiss

Diana Son’s play deals with two women, elementary school teacher Sara (Oh) and traffic reporter Callie (Jessica Hecht) who share their first kiss while walking through New York City’s West Village late at night. They are subsequently attacked, leaving Sara in a coma. The play, which premiered at the Off-Broadway venue The Public Theater in 1998, was extended three times.

Satellites

In 2006, Oh appeared in another play by Son at The Public Theater. In this two-hander, Oh and Kevin Carroll played Nina and Miles, an interracial couple with a new baby who have recently moved to a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn neighbourhood, and numerous tensions arise.

The Welkin

Lucy Kirkwood’s all-female historical ensemble play The Welkin opened at the National Theatre in January 2020 and received its US premiere at the Off-Broadway Linda Gross Theatre in 2024. Set in 18th-century Suffolk, a young woman sentenced to be hanged for murder claims to be pregnant, and 12 local women are required to judge whether she is telling the truth. Oh played courageous midwife Elizabeth, the role originated by Maxine Peake in London.

Twelfth Night

In summer 2025, New York’s Delacorte Theatre reopened following refurbishment with an all-star production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Oh played the bereaved countess Olivia, with Lupita Nyong’o as Viola (with her real-life brother Junior Nyong’o as Sebastian), Peter Dinklage as Malvolio, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Sir Andrew Aguecheek. New York Theatre Guide’s reviewer described the show as a “sturdy, easy-to-like production of Twelfth Night that spills over with music and a freewheeling vibe”.

La fille du régiment

In September 2025, Oh made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Donizetti’s comic opera in the spoken role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp, the prospective mother-in-law of the tomboyish heroine Marie, who has been raised by a regiment of soldiers. This non-singing cameo role often attracts star casting, including comedians Hermione Gingold and Dawn French, retired opera stars Kiri Te Kanawa and Montserrat Caballé, and, one occasion, Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The Misanthrope

This summer, Oh makes her London stage debut at the National Theatre in a new version of Molière’s 1666 satire The Misanthrope by Martin Crimp (Attempts on Her Life, Cyrano de Bergerac), in which the traditionally male protagonist Alceste becomes Alice, a novelist who speaks her mind and refuses to conform to politically correct platitudes, which leads to social ostracisation.

The production is directed by National Theatre artistic director Indhu Rubasingham (Bacchae, The Father and the Assassin). It’s sure to be an incisive piece of theatre that showcases Oh’s razor-sharp comic timing and her flair for playing multi-layered and intellectual women.

Book The Misanthrope tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photography: Sandra Oh (Emily Schurr)