NEW YORK — Kate Walsh has something in common with the sexy neonatal surgeon she plays on ABC's hit medical drama "Grey's Anatomy": love issues.

"Sometimes I feel like, 'What am I doing? Am I becoming my character, or is my character becoming me?' " she says in an interview in Best Life magazine's April issue, on newsstands tomorrow. "I'm starting to get a little superstitious here. I definitely identify with my character in that, romantically at least, this is not where I thought I'd be at 39."

Walsh was a regular on "The Drew Carey Show" and appeared on other series including "Karen Sisco" and "The Fugitive" before getting her big break on "Grey's Anatomy." Last month, Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC said it was planning to air a special two-hour episode featuring Walsh and guest starring Taye Diggs, as a test run for a possible new series.

"I feel torn between having the time of my life and wanting very serious things, like a surplus of love for a family and all that," Walsh says.

"But what's in front of me right now is work. Often, I think it would have been so great if this success had happened when I was 27 or 28, but then again, I wouldn't have had the maturity then to deal with it and not end up in rehab."

Walsh finds the boundaries between herself and her character beginning to blur, perhaps a bit more than feels entirely comfortable.

"With an hourlong drama, you start playing a little closer to who you are, because the writers hear you and are around you and they start writing for you," she says, explaining how her character has become more vulnerable and complex.