Kate Walsh Says Returning to 'Grey's Anatomy' Was Like 'Going Home for the Holidays': 'I Love Everyone on That Show'

Kate Walsh made fans' dreams come true when she returned to Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Addison Montgomery earlier this year.

"It's like going home for the holidays. It's so easy. I love it. I love everyone on that show. That's the best analogy. It's like going home for the holidays and slipping into scrubs and slipping right back into that character. It's super easy for me and comforting, in a way. So I love it," the actress, 58, exclusively told OK! at the Centrum Inside and Outside Makeover Salon Experience on Thursday, August 13, in New York City.

"There's always a little part of my brain that still has medical information," she continues, referring to taking on the role of a doctor.

Though Walsh left the show in May 2007 at the end of Season 3, it's not lost on her that people are still watching the series.

"Oh my God, that was always the iconic thing back in the day when it first started. It was mothers and daughters, and people would come up to me and go, 'I went to medical school because I was...' I'm sure it wasn't as exciting or action-packed as Grey's, but the mothers and daughters are connecting over that — and then occasionally they hit their husbands on the head and make them watch, too. It's great. Someone on my social media just sent me a video. It was this woman's husband watching the Season 1 finale of Grey's, with Addison's entrance, and just shooting his reactions. It's pretty funny. It's pretty great," she said of people binge-watching.

"I think it's also a testament to the writing. It's a testament to the wonderful actors and the crew and everybody who have been there and raised their kids and put them through college and all the things, but also, I think it's a testament to the audience and their loyalty. We're in an ever-changing world, and it's great to have a story that you connect with, and that's always going to be there. I think it's kind of more critical now than ever," she continued.

Though Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice put Walsh on the map, she's touched many different shows over the last few years — from Emily in Paris to 13 Reasons Why and The Umbrella Academy.

"It's pretty massive. It's so exciting. I feel so grateful. Sometimes I'm like, 'Oh, you weren't even born when I was doing the show' [when talking to fans]. So it's really cool. It's beautiful. I still feel very proud and grateful for all the work that I've got to do, and that it reaches different audiences and people feel connected and identified and seen and heard. So I love that," she said.

After living in Australia with her fiancé, Australian producer Andrew Nixon, she is back stateside and looking forward to what's to come.

"I feel so lucky, especially these last several years because I've been traveling back and forth to work, and they kindly agreed to travel me from literally the most remote city on the planet, Perth. It's right next door to Antarctica. It's stunningly beautiful, but far away. I'm really, really happy to be back, and especially in New York. I'm doing a play next year at Williamstown in the summer, but I want to do more theater here, so I'm very excited," she gushed.

In the meantime, the Honest Thief star, who famously overcame a benign lemon-sized brain tumor (meningioma) diagnosed in 2015, is all about taking control of her health, which is why she is partnered with Centrum.

"This event is really about beauty and health and wellness from the inside out, and just the more holistic approach to wellness," she said. "I like that the product is simple. It's Centrum. It's clinical, it's proven, they've been around forever. It's one tablet a day that has so many great things in it. It's a multivitamin that takes care of support for brain function, cognitive function, heart health, eyes, everything that we need as we're aging."

Certain Centrum products require a two-tablet daily serving size (such as Centrum Minis or specific specialty blends like Age Defy), while standard formulas like regular Centrum Adult or Centrum Silver typically require only one tablet daily.

"It's so simple: two capsules, over 16 different things in there to support cellular renewal and aid in the evolution of aging, which we're all so lucky to be doing. I just love that when they approached me — a) how easy it is and b) that there's a history of clinical trials, and that's a specific certainty in a world where there are so many crazy options. This has everything for your health in one tablet, and I like their ethos and philosophy about inside-out, and being a holistic approach and lifestyle approach," she said.

"I'm very fortunate to be in good health, and I think that as you age, it gets existential, and you see some people have health challenges. I certainly have mine. You just feel lucky to overcome them and to be here. We get more conscious as we age, right? I feel like I have, and then you understand that enjoying life is very important," she adds.

During the event — where Walsh spoke on a panel alongside registered dietitian and national nutrition expert Maya Feller — the Bad Judge alum touched upon how she goes with the flow at this time in her life.

"So you kind of have to go, 'Okay, now this is happening.' It's just like the weather. 'Oh, I thought it was going to be sunny. It's raining.' So the ability to pivot — and I feel like that as an actor, because I trained in improv and that was always kind of a strength— but I think as I age, just the surrendering to what is more, as opposed to, 'But I want it to be that way,' that's really come with age, and that's a great feeling," she states.