WEBVTT - 107: Grant: For the People w/ Kerry Washington 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.279 Unpacking the Toolboxes, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:25.799 with Higheart, Radioshas and. 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:39.479 Katie Hiji Hi kick. 0:00:37.120 --> 0:00:40.640 A curly Curly. 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:44.520 My second grade teacher used to always missus kaylish. 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:46.559 She was so mean, but she. 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:51.080 Would always sing cocka cocade, My beautiful Katie. There's some 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:53.360 fucking song, remember I know? 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:53.880 To you? 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:55.320 She would sing it to you. 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:57.640 To me when I entered the classroom. Is there any 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:00.880 childhood song where Guillermo is in Hell? 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:01.280 No? 0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:06.080 Remember Romper Room? I mean you're you're much younger than 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:07.880 I am. But there was no show called Room, and 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:11.680 the host and the beginning would look into this magical 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:14.680 mirror and be like, I see you Tommy and Katie 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:17.640 and John and Barbara and Ted and. 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:23.000 Never like how about in New York when you go 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:26.240 into the trinket stores and it's like you can get 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:29.640 a little license plate or a little pencil with like 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.440 Katie's always on there, and and it's always in a 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:34.919 variation of spellings. 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:37.080 I might get k A T I E, which is 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:38.880 how I spell it. There might be K A T 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:41.480 y whatever. But you are just straight up funk. 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:41.560 No. 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:43.960 They would be like, well, get a William william Is. 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:46.680 I'm like is William gear. 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:49.960 Well William is like the English version of Ghirmo. So 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:54.280 my friends, you know, teachers and and my my friends 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:57.120 I couldn't pronounce, would call me Willie like Willie was 0:01:57.160 --> 0:02:00.400 my name in school, like for w I L L 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:05.160 I E. Willy. Oh God, not Willy. 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:06.960 I call you that from. 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.280 Now, please. I like it. I actually like it. I'm 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:11.560 gonna get Willy tatted on me. 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:15.240 I don't know if you can tell Willy Willy Willy 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:20.040 William that I have a lot of extra kick and 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:23.040 pep in my step today. 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:27.480 Why Well, because we have the most exciting guest for 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:29.200 our listeners today. 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:32.840 I mean, we're obsessed with her. 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:33.760 We're obsessed with her. 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:34.799 I'm obsessed with us. 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:39.799 I mean colearly, I mean, and there is no Scandal 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:46.720 without this person, without this person's performance. And honestly, she 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:52.560 changed my life in like every way, because well. 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:54.120 That's just because that's the person she is. 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.760 I don't think anyone who has been lucky enough to 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.440 spend time with the one and only number one of 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:03.079 Scandal could say that she hadn't changed their life, because 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:06.200 that's just the magnitude of human that she is. 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:09.240 Yes, she's fucking hilarious. 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:13.280 That's the other thing, Like, Okay, she's an activist, she's 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:16.320 the best actress ever. She's a director, she's a producer. 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:19.840 She's been on Broadway, she's been in movies. She's led 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:25.560 the Democratic National Convention. She's ridiculously the accolades and the. 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:28.560 Respect and all of that, but girl is fucking Hirio. 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:31.800 That's one of my favorite things about Carrie is remember 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.800 laughing with her on set, Like laughing with her was 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:37.480 so much fun, so so much fun. And look, I 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:41.680 wear my shirt that says queen, because Carrie is the queen. 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:45.680 She's our queen. She's our queen of Scandal. And she 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:53.120 also was the best number one. Yes, I honestly think 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:54.600 this business has ever seen. 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:59.400 She spoiled. She spoiled all of other TV shows that 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:02.400 I was a regular, which was like two others, But 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.840 she spoiled that for because the amount of you know, 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:11.080 class and and uh just a positiveness and respect that 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:15.160 I expected from my number ones after Scandal was like 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:17.960 beyond possible anything that I ever got. 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:18.240 Yeah. 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:21.440 Yeah, it was like you're no Kerry Washington, No, I 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:22.880 mean she and. 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:26.279 Also how I behaved on set like I truly think 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:28.600 there was like speeches made. You know, obviously you guys 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:31.720 have heard on the podcast that well, we knew that 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:34.080 the end was coming our last season, so there were 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:37.160 so many goodbyes. But they kept saying over and over 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:39.200 again that everyone who was lucky enough to be on 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:41.480 this set could go off into their other sets, of 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:45.479 their other jobs, knowing that this type of family feel 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:48.160 and behavior was even possible, and that you could strive 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:51.600 for that and like exist, you should try to have 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:55.159 your cast and crew feel like this. But my god, 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:58.400 this woman, I mean she didn't. Every time she got 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:01.520 nominated for an award, which was all lot, she would 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:03.200 gather the entire crew. 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:04.200 Do you remember this ship? 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:10.039 Gather the entire crew and cast and just like make 0:05:10.080 --> 0:05:14.160 the most beautiful speech about mouth that it was about 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.800 she did all the time, but how it was everyone 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:20.160 like that, She was nothing without the rest of us 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:23.760 and the crew and the grip. She knew everyone's names, 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:27.400 everyone's significant others' names, who was expecting children, who were 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:30.159 purchasing homes, who needed help like it was. 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:32.960 And she would also, Katie, do you remember she would 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:36.200 when we had background on set whenever we had background, 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:39.200 she would take a moment, either before we started shooting 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:41.320 or after, to say, Hey, I just want to take 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:44.440 a minute to say thank you to you guys. Without you, guys, 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:48.040 we cannot have you know, made scandal, So thank you 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:49.039 background actors. 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:51.839 You always did that. 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:54.040 That's the first time I ever saw that on set. 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:56.159 On a side, I've never seen that either. Remember the 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:58.080 lawn Chair episode. 0:05:57.680 --> 0:05:59.440 With them, Oh my god, yeah. 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:02.640 With uh Courtney b Vance. 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:07.320 The background actors have to be screaming horrific racial slur 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.560 because it's about us shooting all this and and Carrie 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:15.600 is like saying, like, thank you so much for your performance. 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:17.800 Like I know this is not easy. I know this 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:20.720 is hard. This is taking so much energy and it's hard, 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:24.920 ugly things to say. And like, the girl is a leader. 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:27.440 I mean she's not going to run for president, but 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:29.680 my good god, if I wish she would, we would 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:31.200 be so lucky because it's. 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.000 Not only you can't do yeah, And not only do 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:36.000 we have Carrie Washington on this episode, we have a 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:39.400 plethora of other amazing guest actors. One of my favorites 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:42.080 is Matt Leshu, who plays Jimmy Chambers. Of course, George 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:46.200 Newburn is in this episode. He plays Charlie Freaking Kate Burton, 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:47.960 Dan Bucatinski. 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:52.320 Oh Brendon Hines as Diddyon Wallace, although in this episode 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:53.160 he does. 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:55.040 She did in this episode. 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:56.560 Yo. 0:06:56.680 --> 0:06:58.880 Bella me Young is listed as a guest star in 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.359 this episode because she's not a regular yet on the show. 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:06.120 Bellamy did not become a regular until we got picked 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:07.760 up for a second season. And by the way, we're 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:10.640 talking today about episode one oh seven called Grant for 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.200 the People, which aired on May seventeenth in twenty twelve. 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:19.200 It was written by the Shonda Rhimes, our other queen. 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:21.600 There were two queens to make Scandal, Shan and Carry, 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:23.440 and it was directed by Roxanne Dawson. 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:25.240 But at the time that we shot this. 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:28.040 Episode, we didn't know we were going to get a 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:33.559 second No, we had never aired an episode like yeah, 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:35.640 we shot it and no one had seen it. So 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:37.680 we were still in this like perfect little bubble where 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:39.600 we have no clue how the show was going to 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:40.320 be received. 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:43.280 Listen, what I love about our show and about our 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:47.360 cast is not not one year of our seven seasons 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:49.680 did I ever or any of us ever feel like 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:52.400 ah cool, I'll see you guys next year. We're picked up. 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:55.640 It was ever after every single season we were like, 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:58.720 oh please God, I hope we were fortunate enough to 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:01.960 get picked up. We never got cocky about this stuff. 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:02.200 Never. 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:05.840 We didn't take it for granted, no pun intended, but 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:09.640 grant for the people. The name of this episode, grant 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:12.880 taken for granted for the people. But yeah, we were 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:16.320 always just super humble and just like so great. 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:20.320 That's because shit rolls down hill and Garry Garry. 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:20.720 Yeah. 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:24.920 Never, yes, never took the show, the job or characters 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:28.200 the writing for granted before she comes on, which were 0:08:28.480 --> 0:08:32.640 obviously tickled tickled. Let me just tell you fill in 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:34.920 the rest, which is we we said Brendan Hines is 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:35.920 on this episode, but this. 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:36.920 Be it because he died. 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:41.520 We have Brian Lesser, his Tom Troy Winbush's Morris Elcott, 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.840 love him so much. Shannon Cochrane is the Attorney General Sawyer. 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:46.839 Mark Harrolock is the Press secretary. 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:50.520 Marvin Colgate, you're fired, Marvin. That's my favorite. 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:53.000 By get the fuck out. 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:56.000 The synopsis is Olivia and the team rally after Quinn 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:59.360 finds Gideon Wallace dying in his apartment. Cyrus turns to 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:02.640 Olivia with annnouncement that affects fits his presidency. 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:06.400 And that's all we're giving you. It's a very short synopsis. 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:08.840 What did you think of my acting in this episode? 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:14.160 Katie? I love your acting, Katie, Katie, listen, can you 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:19.080 look my first page of notes, says Katie's performance in 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:21.720 the scene where she walks in on Gideon and with 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:25.560 the team is electric. It's thutt, roll and raw. It's 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:28.960 mesmerizing all the words like literally the stuff that I 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:30.160 really what are you doing to. 0:09:30.080 --> 0:09:38.120 Me, Willy will Yeah. 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:38.400 Oh my god, I love that. I told you my 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:42.800 friends called me Willy like for eighteen years of my life. 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:46.400 Oh to talk about you were so. 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:50.320 So good in this episode, Katie, Like truly, I think 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:53.400 I think you thrive on. I think I'm the same too. 0:09:53.920 --> 0:09:55.880 It was such a you had to play all this 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:01.280 raw like tragedy like death, and I think you thrive 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:03.640 and you just oh, you were just so real. 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:06.319 Love a high steak moment, people, I love a high 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:07.040 steak moment. 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:10.640 And the shivering you were shivering through your lines. Oh 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:12.920 my god. If you guys have not seen this episode, 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:13.600 you gotta watch it. 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:17.480 It's not just the finally episode of the first season, 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:21.440 and Quinn walks in and sees that giddy She's like, oh, 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.040 great bagel place down thing and like I got your 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:26.319 coffee and we fucked last night and like woo hoo. 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.840 And then it's like, oh no, and the coffee. 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:31.120 Falls on the ground, which I remember being on a 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:33.400 Friday night and they said, you can only do this once. 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:36.640 I had to nail that coffee drop slip out of 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:38.319 my hand that spoils everywhere one time. 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:39.040 I love it. 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:44.440 And then I see Giddey in just wow, scissors in 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:46.640 his neck that Billy Chambers put in there because he 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:48.760 was really close. So a couple of things I remember 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:51.240 is A that I had to nail that coffee drop 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:56.320 once and b I had to reshoot pulling the scissors 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:56.960 out of his neck. 0:10:57.080 --> 0:10:58.319 No, do you remember. 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:02.199 No, we shot the first season and I get a 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.600 call like months later saying you have to come in. 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:07.359 And first of all, I was like, I'm fired. 0:11:08.280 --> 0:11:10.600 Always every time we got that call, I'm fired. 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:13.679 After not getting fired, they were like, you have to 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:18.720 come back in and shoot reshoot the Billy Chamber death scene, 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:20.599 and I was like, are you kidding? That was like 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:22.200 the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life, 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:24.960 like pulling the scissors out, screaming, crying, like trying to 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:29.960 reach the phone and realizing he's dead. And because the 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:33.200 first angle that they should the way they shot it 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:37.160 the first time around, it looked like I killed him? 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:38.520 Are you serious? 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:40.680 This is my remembering of it. 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:41.160 Wow. 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:49.120 We will be back with more after the break. Okay, guys, 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:51.720 without further a duty. 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:55.760 Without further a duty, we would like to present. 0:11:56.480 --> 0:12:01.760 We're the stupidest. We would like to present the one, 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:06.200 the only, the Queen, the i'm a, i'm a I'm getting. 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:07.959 Top, I'm drawer. She's top drawer. 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:11.360 She's top drawer, She's tops of everything. She is our friend, 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:14.280 she is one of the loves of our lolliague. 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:18.880 She is a colleague. She is well we would just 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:21.200 for real go over a cliff for this person. 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:25.920 Yes, and also the biggest goofball just like us. 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:34.000 Yes. Here she is the one and only. Carry Hello, 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:38.720 you look so beautiful. We're so happy trying. 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:41.040 To put on some concealer for you. Guys. 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:47.920 Pretty I mean, I mean I prefer the five am 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:50.000 four thirty am Monday morning. 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:51.840 In makeup trailer of. 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:55.400 Kerrie Washington that I missings I do wake up and 0:12:55.440 --> 0:13:01.360 I'm like, those were pretty special, insane times. 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:02.000 Yeah. 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:04.080 I saw on social media you posted about being in 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.200 hair and makeup with Garama by your side when you 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:07.640 guys were doing some press. 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:10.720 And it's true. It's just like you know what, I 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:11.480 was worried. 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:14.600 I was worried that when we didn't have the hair 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:18.520 and makeup trailer, that we wouldn't all still be obsessed 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:20.080 with each other and in love with each other, you know, 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:22.200 because you like, we could just take for granted our 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:26.600 friendships because they were scheduled, but the fact that we're 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:30.160 all still so madly in love with each other, yes, 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:31.760 it's everything. 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:34.719 Yeah, But we were just saying before you came on 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:40.160 that that comes from you, and I mean, look, we're 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:45.800 all very special, yes, but you were How did you 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:48.800 know how to be a number one like that? 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:50.160 Like for real? 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:52.280 Do you think it was like you had worked on 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:55.120 so many things and had sort of always taken note 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:57.760 of how to be a leader or it's just innately 0:13:57.840 --> 0:13:58.120 in you. 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.680 So I'm having a little bit of a weird like 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:05.280 I feel like it's like a proud mommy because I 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:08.200 feel like when I met you, Katie Lose, you were 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:11.440 always asking me questions like this. But it wasn't for 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:15.440 like a national podcast. It wasn't for like right for 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:18.520 the press. Wasn't you ask people questions. 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:20.840 Not a little bit less like Barbara Walters to it 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:25.320 and more just like I need to know number one? 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:28.440 Oh yeah, but you're so it's so sweet because it's 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:31.000 still the essence of you, like you have figured out 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:34.760 a way to you know, stay, like you are just 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:41.760 a naturally curious, you know, inquisitive, adventurous, ambitious person. So 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.560 you have It's like, but it's no longer that five 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:47.440 am version of like I do this. It's like now 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:50.560 this very formal presentational version, which I. 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:54.320 Love, Thanks Carrie. 0:14:56.000 --> 0:15:00.000 So I have, I think the number one, number one 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:02.880 in the whole history of number ones in the business. 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:04.920 And do people know what it means to be a 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:06.160 number one on the call sheet? Like do we have 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:06.880 to explain that? 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:08.200 Let's explain it. 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:12.760 So every character is assigned a number on the call 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:15.760 sheet based on how important that character is perceived to 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:17.920 be on the show, and sometimes relative to the status 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:19.960 of the actor playing them. And so if you're number 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:21.840 one on the call sheet, you're like the most important 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:25.840 character according to the writers and the producers. So I 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.160 learned how to be a number one. I've had incredible 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.240 number ones I've worked with through the year. Julia Styles 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:33.280 is an amazing number one. Forrest Whitker is an incredible 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.440 number one. But hands down, the award for number one 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:38.600 number one goes to Jamie Fox. 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:41.320 He's a beast. He is. 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:45.960 He not only like does his homework, is fully prepared, 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:48.720 is always happy to be there, really passionate and knows 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:49.600 everybody's name. 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:51.920 He takes care of the background. 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:56.440 He's grateful, he's humble, he works really hard. He's all 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:58.320 of those things. And you know, I worked with him 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:00.240 on Ray and then ten years later on Jay Go, 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:02.520 and so I got to see, like it really is 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:05.320 who he is. He's just like Wow, He's a leader. 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:07.920 He's a true leader and a generous leader. And he 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.960 loves his job, like he really he loves He gets 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:12.800 that we're lucky to do what we do, and he 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:15.720 never let a day go by without us all feeling that. 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:18.800 And so I think, really, I just spent all those 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:20.880 seasons on Scandal pretending to be Jamie Fox. 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.240 We love it. We were talking earlier Carrie about how you, 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:27.560 either before we shot a scene or after, you would 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:31.240 take a moment to address the background actors and just 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:33.280 be like, thank you guys so much for being here. 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:36.040 We could not have done this scene without you, guys, 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.960 just the respect you showed background actors. And for someone 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.720 who started in background work, I did a ton of 0:16:41.720 --> 0:16:44.720 background works. Oh my god, I didn't know that I 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:47.600 was in Green Card, I was, I was at I 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:53.640 did background work on student films, even hard and then little. 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:56.120 But but you know, it's rare that the lead actor 0:16:56.200 --> 0:17:00.600 or even producers or directors, you know, unfortunately, treat background 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:03.960 actors with any sort of you know, I mean, you know, 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:07.120 the sure, yes, yes. 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:09.040 But you are so important scenes. 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:11.879 Oh my gosh, can you imagine if we didn't have 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:13.679 those background actors in the White House, we're just like 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:15.440 a bunch of idiots in hallways, like. 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:17.720 Yeah, it's not so dumb. It's like you're making such 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:20.119 for ten yes, And how. 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:23.120 Many times have you watched something where the background totally 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:23.920 ruins the scene? 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.360 Oh my god, I don't believe any of those people 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:28.560 are at a party. I don't believe any of those 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:29.840 people are, you know. 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:34.440 Walking like background, looking at the camera background, they're so vital. 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:36.840 To the Yeah, very similitude. 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:39.520 Yes, and you could tell on our show, you can 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:43.080 tell invested in what they're doing today. 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:46.320 Just to jog your memories about episode one oh seven, 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:48.639 which is like who is Quinn Perkins? Quinn pulls the 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.960 night scissors out of Gideon's throat and I there's the 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.760 scene where I don't remember deciding yeah, I'll jog your memory. 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.840 I'll jog your memory. Everyone's like, do we don't they 0:17:58.880 --> 0:17:59.359 clean it up? 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:00.960 Do we don't? Right? 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:02.800 And you're like, we clean it up. But it was 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:04.879 the example of an oh pa. It wasn't so much 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:07.520 about character development. Maybe it was for other people, but 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:09.760 not for me as much as it was like an 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:13.200 ensemble theater piece of like do not drop your line, 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:17.120 especially this is a peace This is like everyone has 0:18:17.160 --> 0:18:19.840 got one line, two lines, like and. 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.239 It's keeping the ball where we got together on the 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:23.840 weekend to rehearse. 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:26.879 Yes, yes, yes, see what is the one I'm talking about? 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:30.040 Because because it was a play play, we all thought 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:31.040 it was a one act play. 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:33.040 And I remember. 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:36.800 Betsy Beers being like, you guys did what our producer like, yeah, 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:39.920 we've never heard of that that's bananas. 0:18:39.320 --> 0:18:40.920 But we just it was a play. 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:42.480 It was a one act play, and we were a 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:45.119 bunch of theater kids who had been lucky enough to 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:48.159 find ourselves on some screens, and so we got up 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:49.920 together on our own to rehearse. 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:52.040 I think back to that. 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:55.280 And just think we were so lucky that none of 0:18:55.359 --> 0:19:00.360 us had done a ton of prime time at work 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:03.760 television show to know that we weren't supposed to do that. 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:08.000 But we're so lucky what we didn't know because and 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:09.280 I think, but. 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:12.960 Before Scandal, the job I'd had before Scandal was a movie, 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:15.080 but the but right before it was a movie. 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:16.480 But right before that. 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:18.320 You were the star before Scandal. I wanted to ask 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:19.520 you that why TVs. 0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:23.239 I originated a role in David Mannett's play Race, and 0:19:23.280 --> 0:19:26.560 to this day, I feel like one of the reasons 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:30.800 why God put me in that play was to figure 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:34.439 out how to do that mammot thing, like how to afrythm, 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:36.520 how to say the word as written no matter what, 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:38.960 how to get out of the way of the language. 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:42.040 Because I felt like I brought so much of that 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:43.160 with me to Scandal. 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:46.760 The work ethic that you had on Scandal was to 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:49.520 me and I'm not one, but was like like being 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:51.520 an Olympic athlete, which is what you are when you 0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:53.919 do Broadway, like when you do a race or you 0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:57.000 do a Scandal and you're a number one, like you 0:19:57.040 --> 0:19:59.399 are a machine. You can't get sick, you can't not 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:04.719 know your life like it's so everyone is, it's. 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:07.320 You're there, Yeah, there's Harry. 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:09.719