9 Quick Questions for Chandra Wilson

Did you watch medical shows prior to landing this role?

I still to this day watch General Hospital every single day. I watched ER, I watched Chicago Hope, I watched St. Elsewhere.

You were in your 30s when Grey’s Anatomy began, and now you’re in your 50s. What’s changed the most for you as you prepare for each episode?

We have lots and lots of dialogue. Miranda Bailey has lots of long speeches that she likes to give [to] people. They used to flow real easily. You memorized. Now you have to work on that a little while longer. Everyone has a different style for how they memorize. Now it’s less about just piling stuff into the brain than it is about being able to form relationships with words and why you’re saying what you’re saying, and sometimes you have to play little tricks with yourself. And the vision. There was a time when we all used to read our scripts just carefree, and then slowly but surely [reading glasses] started coming in. It’s been interesting to watch those natural evolutions.

Wilson continues her run as Dr. Miranda Bailey on the 20th season of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Liliane Lathan/ABC

What are you doing to keep mentally sharp?

I have one of those apps — [the game] June’s Journey — where you have to find [objects] over and over again to gain points. I do that one a lot. Then I add in a little ginkgo biloba [supplement to my diet] when I can and stay on a good vitamin regimen.

Does playing a medical professional change how you approach your own health and wellness?

The first thing that I was able to learn and appreciate is that your medical professional — whether it’s your personal physician or a surgeon — they’re just human beings. They are not the gods. They do not have the answer. They go off into a room after they talk to you and they look things up online. So that’s the first thing to know — that it’s a team effort, and that’s OK. Everything is kind of trial and error. We just lose patience as human beings, because we just want the answers so we can figure out the thing to do. We just have to be patient and we have to give ourselves some grace.

You’ve said you plan to stay on Grey’s Anatomy until the show officially ends. Is that still how you feel?

I do still feel committed. It’s funny, it’s different when you’re talking about it when you’re in season 4, and then maybe even season 10, and then who would have thought that there would be 10 more seasons with that? But I do like the full circle commitment of having started a thing and then being there to finish a thing. There’s something that gives me a real sense of pride to have been able to do that.