Decision to stay on Grey's based on age: Ellen Pompeo

Actress Ellen Pompeo says age played an important role behind her decision to stay on Shonda Rimes' hit medical drama "Grey's Anatomy", which just completed its 12th season run.
The 46-year-old actress feels she started late as an actor and realised she did not have much chance in Hollywood so she decided to stay on the medical drama.
"My decision to stay on Grey's was based solely on age. At 33, I was wise enough to know my clock was already ticking in Hollywood," Pompeo said in the interview to Peoplestyle.
The actress believes if she'd been younger, "I probably would have done my time, then gone out to search for other things."

But as her contract renegotiations loomed she "was definitely aware of how challenging it would be to find other roles in my late 30s and early 40s."
Pompeo, however, does not regret her decision to continue on the show and she would soon start working on the 13th season.

"I thought, 'Why would I leave something that is super successful and pays me great to search the landscape?' I decided that I would stay on Grey's and be grateful and try to ride it out for as long as I could. And I am very happy that I made the decision to stay. It's only gotten better with time."

But it is difficult to see oneself age on the small screen.
"Watching myself age on TV is miserable. To be honest, it's the toughest part of my job... But as uncomfortable as watching myself age is, I don't think focusing on physical beauty is necessarily the best thing for your mind.
"It's a natural thing that we all do, but I don't think it's the healthiest thing. The older you get, the more you realize life isn't about your looks. Everyone ages, and it's okay.