As for one reason Ellen didn’t branch out sooner? The Station 19 star admitted that she was hesitant to take risks at the beginning of her career. Therefore, she played it safe.
“When I was in my 30s, I absolutely saw myself as in a box. That’s why I stayed on the show because I said, ‘Holy s–t. By the time I can negotiate my contract again and get out of this, I’m going to be almost 40 years old. I am super typecast in this role. I am 40, so I’m never going to work again,'” she explained. “Even 15 years ago, the thought of being 40 was, like, you’re over as an actress.”
But fast forward to now, and she’s done holding herself back.
“Now that I’m 50, I don’t see myself that way at all,” she noted. “I think…that I can do whatever I want or I can do nothing at all, quite honestly.”