Kerry Washington Discusses How It Felt To Work On ‘Scandal’ While Pregnant

Kerry Washington sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to dicusses what it felt like to film the hit show “Scandal,” while she was pregnant. Check out what the mom to be had to say below.

How would you describe the season finale?

Pun intended: Explosive! (Laughs.) One of the craziest things about this season’s finale is that you’d think at this point it would be impossible to shock us as a cast anymore, but we were floored after this table read. It gets crazier and crazier in the most wonderful way. Even the writers were excited about it during the table read. [Showrunner] Shonda[Rhimes] kept saying, “It’s only Act 2! It’s only Act 3!” because we couldn’t believe how much story was being exploded in each act. It’s quite a ride. 

What was the hardest scene for you to film this season?

I work very physically as an actor. The biggest thing for me has been the challenge of how to be this person [Olivia Pope] with the personal transformation that’s going on for me physically and how to stay true to this character. That hasn’t been easy. It’s been an awesome challenge for me as an actor because so much of how I access character is through my body. It’s definitely been complicated to say the least. I’ve learned a lot about other ways to access Olivia and be her. It’s interesting that Olivia has had such a dark season and that’s been hard, too. I have my own understanding about who she is and to watch her go through and have to embody some of the things Olivia had to go through this season has really been challenging. I’ve always talked about my favorite thing about the character being the balance between her strength and vulnerability, so to be this very strong woman in these very dark periods of emotional vulnerability has been hard — and fun (laughs).

What do you think about all the creative ways Scandal has concealed your pregnancy? Is there one that stood out to you?

I’m just grateful for how hard everybody has worked to maintain the authenticity of this character in this world. I’m grateful to [costume designer] Lyn Paolo and all our producers. The decision of whether or not a character would be on similar journey, I had nothing to do with that decision. I trust Shonda with all things. I feel very grateful that we have such an amazing team that was able to protect the character within the context of what the actress was going through.

Do you think it’s possible for Olivia to, as they say, stand in the sun with someone without drama?

You have to hope that for her because you hope that for anybody. If that’s what she really wants, then that’s what I want for her. I always say I’m on Team Shonda when it comes to Olivia’s love life (laughs). I don’t really pick sides other than that!

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