Why Sandra Oh Takes Her Game-Changing Emmy Nomination With 'Great Responsibility' (Exclusive)

The actress could be the first Asian woman to win a lead actress Emmy.

It's a marathon, not a sprint for Sandra Oh

The 47-year-old actress is the first Asian woman to be nominated for a lead actress Emmy for her performance on BBC America's Killing Eve, and while she agrees the milestone shouldn't have taken this long, she appreciates every step of the journey. 

"Images are extremely important to culture, and being a part of that image making, I take a great responsibility, and I'm very grateful for my job to be able to do so. I hope that the wave continues and we see real change," she told ET's Kevin Frazier at the 2018 Emmys at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on Monday. "But it's also [important] to be patient, you know what I mean? Because change is slow and I don't want people to ever give up on it."

"We can talk about how long it is, but change does take a long time, so the more that we talk about it, the more that we have opportunities to be in front of an audience, to say, 'Hey, we're a part of culture too,' I think just the better," she added. 

Oh is definitely excited by the possibility of making history with an Emmy win, but it's the awards show itself that she was really dazzled by. In fact, the actress tripped up the steps saying hi to John Oliver. "Kevin, you just saved me! Thank you so much for saving me," she told Frazier. "I just thanked [Oliver] for helping humanity." 

"It's such a great opportunity to meet people and to be able say, 'I've loved your work for years and I'm so happy to be in your company,'" Oh shared of the awards show -- and the tight Lead Actress in a Drama Series race. "To win, it may come, it may not, but the thing is just being here... It is the thing."

Todd Williamson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

With Killing Eve, Oh -- who stunned in a Ralph & Russo gown at the awards show -- admitted she's "part of the new wave" of television and how people watch it. "Television is just made differently now," she said of the series. Oh previously earned five straight nominations in the Supporting Actress in a Drama category from 2005 to 2009 for her role as Dr. Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy, and, of course, the series is still going strong and about to kick off its 15th season next week. 

"I mean, there would be 50 people!" she said with a laugh, when asked about a possible Grey's reunion. "Maybe it would be a big dream sequence. That would be a massive undertaking."

See more on Oh in the video below. 

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