While promoting her new action-packed thriller Shadow Force, Kerry stopped by Big Boy’s Neighborhood to reflect on some of her past projects. She shared the impact the popular political drama series had on fans and how it altered the way she was perceived in Hollywood.
For seven seasons, Kerry starred as Olivia Pope, a former media consultant turned powerful D.C. crisis manager. With her no b.s. attitude, her ability to fix any situation, and her steamy forbidden relationship with the president were the perfect ingredients for a must-see series. ABC Thursdays were never the same. The show, which was created by Shonda Rhimes, was extremely successful and is cited for changing TV.
“I guess for me, before Scandal, I really thought of myself as what we call a character actor, you know where I would kind of like disappear into different roles,” Kerry replied after being asked about the “gift” and “curse” that came with being on such a lucrative series.
“And people never really connected — I mean, Black people did [laughs] — but other people didn’t really connect it like the girl from Ray was the same girl from The Last King of Scotland, was the same girl from Save the Last Dance. The characters were like their own being. Scandal changed that.”
“Olivia Pope was a household name. I was a household name. I’m really lucky actually that I’ve been able to do work after Scandal that still has an impact — shows like Little Fires Everywhere and films like American Son. I’ve still been able to do work that’s different from Olivia Pope and people go on that ride with me.”
The series helped push her career onto paths she didn’t even know were possible at the time, including the launch of her production company, Simpson Street, which focuses on broadcast, cable, and digital projects.
“I’m grateful for everything she gave me. She changed my life. She changed my career. She’s given me the ability to be a producer; to create work and opportunities for other people to work, but I’m also grateful that I still get to take risks and be other people.”
The award-winning actor added that she truly loves what she does, partly because of how happy and inspired her work has made others.
“I know how to say Scandal in so many languages because that show was such a hit all over the world. I’ll be walking through a little tiny market in Guatemala, and somebody will say ‘Escandalo!’ It’s great. I’m so grateful for what I do.”
Scandal will definitely go down as one of the greatest and wildest primetime series of all time! I was first introduced to Kerry Washington in 2000 with the coming-of-age drama Our Song, and I’ve been following her career ever since. Watching her grow as an actor and businesswoman has been an extremely beautiful and enriching experience.