Chandra Wilson did not give up her day-to-day job right away when she landed “Grey’s Anatomy.” During an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” with Mario Lopez standing in as a guest host, Wilson opened up about the job she was doing before landing her role as Dr. Miranda Bailey. She explained that at that time, as a working actor living in New York, you had to have your “bread and butter” job to make sure your bills were paid. For Wilson, it was a job in the document processing department at what was then known as Bankers Trust.
“It was long-term temp. And it was perfect because it was overnight. … I could still audition and work during the day,” Wilson detailed. She added she was making “high-end money” because she was “an operator, back in the day,” with the computer skills needed to elevate her position and income in the department. The “Grey’s Anatomy” star recalled getting advice to “not ever put all your eggs in one basket, especially when they call you out here to L.A., jobs don’t last.”
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Wilson told Lopez about how she landed a role prior to “Grey’s Anatomy” that she had hoped would last a while. She starred in the series “Bob Patterson” with Jason Alexander, but it was canceled after only a few episodes. Apparently, that experience taught her to be cautious in counting on new acting roles to pay her bills.
