Despite ongoing reports that she wanted out of her Grey's Anatomy contract and that she was being killed off the show, Katherine Heigl said she wants to stay on the medical drama if her character, Izzie, survives brain surgery.
"I was assuming that [Izzie would die] at one point, and I got a lot of shrugged shoulders and shakes of the head, so I don't know if that's a yes or a no," she told the Associated Press Friday at a party celebrating the ABC show's 100th episode. "No one will tell me and I don't know how this is going to go."
She noted that the decision rests with the show and series creator Shonda Rhimes, who is known to value plot secrecy.
"I don't know if I live or die,"Heigl said. "I don't know how Izzie fares."
On the medical drama, Izzie has metastatic melanoma -- skin cancer -- and it has spread to her brain, giving her only a five percent chance of survival, which is a scoop Usmagazine.com first reported eight months ago. On Thursday's episode, she was seen surviving brain surgery.
She noted that the decision rests with the show and series creator Shonda Rhimes, who is known to value plot secrecy.
"I don't know if I live or die,"Heigl said. "I don't know how Izzie fares."
On the medical drama, Izzie has metastatic melanoma -- skin cancer -- and it has spread to her brain, giving her only a five percent chance of survival, which is a scoop Usmagazine.com first reported eight months ago. On Thursday's episode, she was seen surviving brain surgery.
Still, Heigl said, "I'm there" if Izzie remains part of Grey's Anatomy, for which she has starred since it debuted in 2005. She called the set "one of my favorite places to be" and said her colleagues are also friends.
Rhimes, who is also an executive producer for the show, declined to comment on what will happen to Heigl's character, but she did reveal a clue about the 100th episode, airing May 7.
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"The only thing I'll tell you about the 100th is that it takes place on Meredith [Ellen Pompeo] and Derek's [Patrick Dempsey] wedding day," Rhimes said. "That's big ... and that's all I'm going to say."
Last month, fellow cast member James Pickens Jr. told Us that Heigl was leaving the show, along with T.R. Knight, both of whom declined comment at the time.
Heigl, who some thought was wanting out of the show to focus on her movie career, said she's comfortable balancing film and TV by working on big-screen projects during the show's summer hiatus.
"I'm more than happy to make that compromise," Heigl said. "As my agent likes to say, 'High-class problems.'"
She added: "I don't know if I want to continue for five years working 12 months a year, but I can take at least another year or two."
Dempsey also said he intends to fulfill the remaining two years on his contract with the show and "then we'll see what happens after that."