Doctor at large

Chandra Wilson. Photo / Supplied

Chandra Wilson is having a good year. She got out of scrubs to boss her castmates around when she directed an episode. And on screen, Dr Miranda Bailey, her character on Grey's Anatomy, may finally have something to smile about in the love department. For this Tuesday Bailey temporarily leaves the feuding doctors at Seattle Grace behind for the sedate environment at Ocean Wellness for a crossover episode with Grey's spin-off, Private Practice.

"She gets promoted so she gets to wear the navy blue scrubs - which is a really good colour for me, by the way," hoots Wilson, 40.

After Izzie (Katherine Heigl) screws up a surgery, Bailey travels with the patient to the stomping ground of her old workmate Addison (Kate Walsh). The patient's only hope for survival is a kidney transplant from her sister, who has HIV. Never one to shy from making the big calls, it's Bailey who has to make the legal and moral decision to save the girl's life. And Addison isn't the only one pleased to see Bailey.

She bumps into Dr Sam Bennett, (Taye Diggs), in one of the episode's most dynamic new pairings.

"She needs a break, doesn't she? She needs sunshine in her life," says Wilson.

Bailey doesn't always get the juiciest storylines, despite recent developments that meant she had to forgo a stint in paediatrics because of a divorce, not to mention her staff dying or becoming seriously ill, and the hospital's financial situation worsening.

"Leading up to Izzie's cancer and what was going on with O'Malley, Dr Bailey was a little heavy. Everyone is still dealing with their grief in their own kind of way, and it will show its head periodically throughout the season," she says of O'Malley's death.

The recession-stricken hospital is also forced to deal with the sick economy by way of a merger.

"It's a reflection of the economy in general, everything that's going on in the world, everything that's going on in this country. And so naturally, it has to affect the goings-on at Seattle Grace. So all of the uneasiness that everyone feels in life, that's what we're exploring this season and, you know, in the vehicle of the merger."

Fortunately, Wilson doesn't share her character's blunt, sometimes cold nature. She radiates a warmth and has a tendency to belly-laugh every few minutes at the tiniest things. Her down-to-earth nature perhaps springs from her late success - she was working in a bank when she won the role on Grey's after a career in stage and the occasional guest spot on shows such as Sex and the City, Law and Order and The Sopranos.

Now Grey's is in its sixth season and bursting with new faces, Wilson is somewhat of an authority figure on set. Another good reason she was afforded the extra responsibility this year of becoming a director. Used to the long hours doing multiple takes, Wilson was determined to be organised and efficient and to get things done as quickly as possible.

"That was really important to me without sacrificing any of the work. And the only way that happens is if the director is thoroughly prepared when they step on the set. You take your prep time very seriously."

Wilson directs episode seven, Give Peace A Chance, scheduled to play in New Zealand March 16. Eric Dane, who plays Dr Mark Sloan, says Wilson was easy to trust as a director because she knows so much about the popular show.

"She was more prepared than any director we've had. And she has a perspective on us that a lot of directors don't have the luxury of having because they come in maybe once or maybe twice a season. It was very easy to take direction from her. She's like, 'You will be here', 'And you, don't move. You are going to be there and say your line.' And it was done. She was Director Xanax [a drug used to combat anxiety]."

Wilson found the experience rewarding if not a little terrifying, and hopes to do it again. But outside of her directing responsibilities, she says she's learned to let go and trust creator Shonda Rhimes, and the writers.

"I just take the words and try to give life to that and just trust that, you know. I've never messed with it from the beginning."

The show took off in the third season but now it's in the sixth, does Wilson think it has staying power?

"I always felt like we were the show that came in under the radar because we started so late in our season. So we really got a chance to just grow and be for about two years.

"The sixth year is a really pivotal year for the longevity of the show," she says. "And I think all of the things that we had in the beginning, the way we worked music into the show, the dynamics of the characters, the personal relationships affecting the medical in the show, all of that stuff that was originally there, we're still doing today."

* Grey's Anatomy plays on TV2, Tuesday at 8.30pm, followed at 9.30pm by this week's crossover episode of Private Practice.