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was a while before she officially quit. “I didn’t want to take anything for granted,” she says. While the majority of her work has been television-based, when she first started booking roles, Camilla wasn’t particular about which medium she wanted to work in – especially given the strides television has taken in the last decade. “T.V. is incredible right now with shows like Breaking Bad, Orange Is The New Black, Mr. Robot…” she says, “I feel like that stigma that there once was about TV, I feel like it’s not there anymore.” Her main goal was always to play characters that are complicated and interesting, which she feels like she’s been able to accomplish so far. “I play some messy people,” she says, laughing. The biggest surprise of Camilla’s career came when she was cast as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider – the popular video game series. Though that route wasn’t planned, Lara has become the character Camilla has played the longest. The first game took three years to develop, and the second one took two years. “I’m most proud of that character because I’ve lived in it the longest, and it pushes me emotionally and physically,” she says. When she first auditioned for the role it had a code name, and she had no idea what type of journey the role would take her on. With Tomb Raider she’s been able to attend Comic Con and be apart of a fandom she never would have experienced before. Being in the game doesn’t make her any better at it, though – Camilla admits she’s terrible at it. “I know what I need to do, I know where I need to go and what I need to solve, but it’s just solving it and finding that place that can drive you crazy,” she says, laughing. While Tomb Raider is her longest roll to date, her most recognizable role
is without a doubt her part on Grey’s Anatomy. “It was nostalgic for me,” she says of booking the role of Jo Wilson in 2012. She became hooked on the series when she first moved out to L.A., and because she didn’t have a solid friend group in the city yet she would go home after work and watch T.V. and specifically remembers watching those first few seasons from her couch. “I remember on my first days I snuck onto other sets that I wasn’t supposed to be on – like Meredith’s house or Joe’s Bar – and there was something reminiscent of those early days of being in L.A. and struggling and watching the show and thinking ‘God, I would love to be on that show,’ and ‘Man, aren’t these characters great?’” she says.
gether episode, and most – if not the entire cast – will be together for 15 hours every day. “When we all get together like that, it’s really fun,” Camilla says. “We’re all very close.” Joining a Shonda Rhimes show as a female actress can guarantee one thing – the character you’re playing may be struggling, but she’s damn strong regardless. Shonda has been praised for her ability to bring incredibly complex and tough female characters to life over the years, and Jo Wilson is no exception. “I like that Jo didn’t come from anything, because I can relate to not really having any help and having to do it all myself, and feeling lost at times,” Camilla says. She likes that Jo isn’t perfect, and often finds her completely infuriating, but she knows that is much more interesting to watch – and more fun to play. When Jo is first introduced on the series in a new batch of interns at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, most of her backstory is still a mystery. Camilla herself didn’t know much about it until she had to film a storyline where Jo is looking after a homeless patient and doesn’t feel he’s getting the proper care he deserves. Chandra Wilson – who has played Dr. Bailey on the show since Season 1 – was directing at the time and stopped Camilla mid-scene and told her the reason Jo felt so affected by this case was because Jo herself was homeless at one point, and then continued to spill the rest of her backstory, which includes being abandoned as an infant followed by 16 years of bounding around the foster care system. “At first I was like, why didn’t I know this from the beginning?” she says. “It made me fall in love with her a little bit because I liked that she had that vulnerability and I thought it was interesting she was keeping it a secret at that point.” Camilla thinks there’s a lot
“I REMEMBER ON MY FIRST DAYS I SNUCK ONTO OTHER SETS THAT I WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE ON - LIKE MEREDITH’S HOUSE OR JOE’S BAR - AND THERE WAS SOMETHING REMINISCENT OF THOSE EARLY DAYS OF BEING IN L.A. AND STRUGGLING AND WATCHING THE SHOW.” By the time Camilla joined the show in its ninth season, production was running like a well-oiled machine. Camilla was able to sit back and watch how it all worked, and felt like she easily adapted to the environment on set. “Everyone really embraces new people,” she says. “There’s always people going in and out, so people are so welcoming. That makes you feel comfortable immediately.” Unlike most ensemble casts who may not even film scenes in the same country, the characters on Grey’s Anatomy are constantly rotating their positions in the hospital, which allows each cast member to work with every actor on the show. Every so often there will be a big get-to-