The role Kerry Washington was destined to play: “In some divine way, this was mine”
When looking at the greatest television shows of all time, it’s often that the main character is so synonymous with the actor that it becomes impossible to imagine anyone else in the role.
In that, there would be no Breaking Bad without Bryan Cranston as Walter White, The Sopranos would have never been as popular without James Gandolfini as Tony, Mad Men wouldn’t be hailed as a classic if it weren’t for the incomparable performance by Jon Hamm as Don Draper, and in the case of Scandal, the ABC drama is significantly indebted to Kerry Washington’s career-defining lead role as Olivia Pope.
Scandal aired at a time when network television was beginning to show its age, as more interesting and compelling dramatic programming was handled by premium cable channels like FX or HBO, as well as streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. While it faced content and time restrictions that shows like Game of Thrones or The Americans didn’t, it became a massive sensation that took home many accolades, including two nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards for Washington.
The actor starred as the brilliant leader of a crisis-management firm who finds herself dodging investigations when a secret involving her former employer, the United States President Fitzgerald Grant III, played by Tony Goldwyn, threatens to come to the fore, making for a ripped-from-the-headlines story about secrets and affairs within the White House that managed to hook in audiences over the course of seven seasons.
According to an interview with The Guardian, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she felt connected to the part, so her challenge wasn’t that she wasn’t committed, but that there were many other actors who were equally enthusiastic about playing Olivia Pope.
“I read the Scandal script, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m screwed, this is so good’,” Washington said, “I got really scared, because I did feel like it was written for me. You know, in some divine way, this was mine, but there were 15 other actresses who felt the same.”
Part of the appeal of working on the show was that Washington got the chance to work alongside Shonda Rhimes, the legendary executive producer of hit shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, and she noted that the clout that Rhimes had in the industry meant that there was a rigorous casting process to determine who could take on the lead role.
“Shonda auditioned everyone and their mother,” Washington said, “For African-American actresses, this was the glass slipper, so she let everyone try it on”.
The actor’s enthusiasm for the show thankfully won her the part she felt was destined for her, and she certainly put in the work to ensure that her performance matured and developed as the series continued, such that, when considering how many great television shows face significant declines in quality towards the end of their run, it’s pretty amazing that Scandal’s last season was just as well-received as the first.
The success of the show certainly boosted Washington’s career, as in the aftermath, she earned rave reviews for her work in the television film Confirmation, received another Emmy nomination for the Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, and joined the cast of the ensemble mystery Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. That being said, Scandal is the type of project that will forever define her career, and, for better or worse, she will always be Olivia Pope.
