Grey's Anatomy Star Sandra Oh Auditioned To Play A Major Marvel Character In An X-Men TV Flop

"Grey's Anatomy" and "Killing Eve" star Sandra Oh has made a mark on television by portraying complex roles, but the actor previously auditioned to play a popular Marvel character in the 1996 TV film "Generation X." This TV movie is based on writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo's comic book of the same name.

In a 2015 interview with Syfy, "Generation X" director Jack Sholder revealed that Oh was one of the actors that auditioned to play Emma Frost, a mutant with formidable telepathic abilities and the power to turn into organic diamond. Though he didn't recall any more details about the audition, he praised Finola Hughes, who ended up playing Frost in the TV movie.

Sholder also dismissed rumors about the TV movie starting off as a pilot for a potential series that would air on Fox. "It certainly wasn't made as a pilot. ... At that point, the whole Syfy Channel hadn't really happened and those shows [didn't] start making money. So this was just seen as a one-off thing," the director explained in the interview.

"Generation X" opens with teenager Jubilation Lee's (Heather McComb) mutant powers manifesting in public, after which Frost and Sean Cassidy/Banshee (Jeremy Ratchford) enroll her in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. We then follow Jubilee's exploits alongside her mutant friends, who must learn to control their newfound powers while navigating great responsibility. Unfortunately, "Generation X" didn't do too well as a TV movie, in terms of either Nielsen rankings or critical reception. Its promising premise was squandered due to budgetary issues and numerous behind-the-scenes factors that negatively impacted the quality of writing.

Although Sandra Oh missed out on the opportunity to play Emma Frost in 1996, she landed her breakthrough TV role the same year. After gaining recognition for playing Rita Wu on "Arliss," Oh went on to nab several guest roles on shows like "Judging Amy," "Six Feet Under," and "American Dad!"

Then came "Grey's Anatomy," where Oh played the fiercely ambitious Cristina Yang for 10 seasons. She followed up her stint on "Grey's Anatomy" with the award-winning "Killing Eve," where she played Eve Polastri for four seasons. Notably, Oh was the first actress of Asian descent to be nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series. In addition, she has won two Golden Globes so far. Oh's latest television credits include the HBO series "The Sympathizer," Amazon Prime's animated "Invincible," and Netflix's comedy-drama "The Chair."