As we all know, Kerry Washington has been in a plethora of movies, won a multitude of awards, and been on tons of magazine covers for almost 20 years now.
Now, Kerry is teaming up with funny man Eddie Murphy in the upcoming contemporary comedy A Thousand Words.
Kerry plays the wife of Eddie Murphy, a literary agent known to stretch the truth. He is forced to find different ways to communicate after a spiritual guru gives him only 1000 words left to speak in his life, meaning he must utilize them to talk about the things that truly matter most to him.
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Aside from A Thousand Words, you can catch Washington on the hit drama series on ABC, Scandal, produced by Shonda Rhimes. The series revolves around the life and work of a popular PR manager and her staff.
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We had the privilege of sitting down with the beautiful actress to discuss all her new projects. She dishes about how awkward on-camera sex scenes can be, body image and what her dream role would be.
Check out what she had to say below!
Tell us a little bit about this movie with Eddie Murphy, 1000 Words, as well as the sex/S&M scene. Was it funny, or uncomfortable with so many people around?
It was absurd. Any time you have to do a scene that has anything to do with anything that is intimate and private and you have to do it publicly, it’s awkward. That was my least fun day on set. But it is a funny scene and Eddie tried to make me really comfortable and he kept telling me I looked terrible so I would relax. But it’s a funny scene thank goodness. So much of the film is about communication and that scene is so funny because it’s about miscommunication. Wearing that kind of stuff is a total nightmare…and publicly, you know.
What do you think about women and body image in Hollywood? Do you feel like we’re coming a little bit further or do you feel like we have a while to go?
I don’t know. I always think those kinds of questions are difficult because it’s such a personal journey, so I’m not sure how to answer that.
Did you have your own body issues to get over, or have you always been comfortable with your own image?
No, it’s on the record that I’ve definitely had a journey with body image.
Can you tell us something about yourself that we don’t know?
That’s a tricky one for me because I don’t know what you know or don’t know. It’s documented that I had an eating disorder.
How did you get beyond it?
Lots of work: emotion, spiritual, emotional, psychological, good support, good shrink and just staying on it. It’s just something you’re always working on.
I know you’re active politically. If you had to choose from one of the 4 GOP candidates, who would you choose from?
I refuse to even answer that question, because there’s only one person in this campaign that I want to vote for.
I know Shonda Rhimes is up for an Essence Award and you were cast in Scandal as well. She has three shows on air and all of them are equally successful. Can you tell us a little bit about what she means to you?
It’s a tricky question for me to answer because in the past when people asked what my DREAM role would be, I never had an answer that I felt connected to. But I know now for the first time in my career, I’m very clear that my next dream role would be another season on Scandal.
The whole experience has been so fulfilling artistically and working with Shonda as an executive producer and as a writer on the show is a privilege, a challenge, and an inspiration every single week. I don’t know how she does it. I feel like she has 30 characters running around in her head all the time and each one of them is unique and fully alive and she somehow manages all that, and to be a mom and have a life. It’s pretty inspiring and outstanding.
