'Scandal' Star Kerry Washington Says She's Tried to Quit Acting All of Her Life
The actress shared that she almost left Hollywood before landing a role in "Ray."
Scandal star Kerry Washington recently made a surprising confession, saying that she's tried to quit acting all of her life. The actress made the comment in a W magazine interview — held prior to the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike — in support of her new Hulu comedy, Unprisoned. "I have spent a lifetime trying to not be an actor," Washington told the outlet.
"I am always quitting this business, and then right when I decide that I'm done is when something extraordinary comes across my desk," she then clarified. "I was really, really done with this business right before I read the script for Ray. I was really, really done with this business right before I read the script for The Last King of Scotland. I was entirely done with this business before reading the script for Scandal. This is what happens again and again."
Elsewhere in her W magazine interview, Washington shared how she became involved with Unprisoned. "Tracy McMillan, who's an incredible life coach, writer, and human being, called me and said that she was going to write a show inspired by the crazy, beautiful circumstances of her life," she recalled. "When I read it, I fell in love with the material immediately. I was really excited to play Paige and really excited to call Delroy Lindo, because I felt like he was the only actor on the planet who was right for this role. When he said yes, I felt like, we have a show."
Teasing a moment where she felt "starstruck," Washington revealed, "The last time I was really starstruck was when I had the chance to work with Anthony Hopkins many, many years ago. I remember watching him do a scene, and my jaw must have been just open, gazing at his talent, because he said to me, 'Oh, relax.' He was like, 'You'll get there one day. I've been doing this longer than you've been alive.' He was so generous and kind."
Finally, Washington shared how she measures success in her life and career. "I don't know that that's a thought I've ever had, actually," she said. "I have moments where I feel really lucky, moments where I can't believe that I'm in the room that I'm in, moments where I feel kind of awed by my life, to come from where I come from and to even have the personal life I have. To have the incredible kids I have, and the amazing husband I have, and the career that I have. I have moments of feeling really awed, but I don't feel successful-because I still feel curious and hungry and excited to continue to work and get better and do more."