Kerry Washington braces the cover of the August issue of Vanity Fair and she talks about her character Olivia Pope on ABC’s Scandal.
Washington calls the role “revolutionary,” and she also tells the magazine that the phenomenon of Olivia Pope is “profound.”
She explained “one of the most profound things for me about the show is the number of white women of all ages who come up to me and say, ‘I want to be Olivia Pope.’”
Washington continued, “It’s especially profound in a place like South Africa. It’s called The Fixer over there, and it just started its second season. The fact that white women can see this woman of color as an aspirational character is revolutionary, I think, in the medium of television. I don’t think white women would feel that way about Olivia if her identity as a woman, period, wasn’t first in their mind.”
The role is based off of Judy Smith, a D.C. crisis-management expert, and Washington says she has conference calls with her to better understand how to portray her.
CBS News reports that Washington describes the role of Olivia Pope as “maternal,” saying "There's a very nurturing sense of 'I'm going to take care of you -- don't worry about it. I'm gonna be your mom in this situation. You come stay in my office, have a cup of tea, and let my gladiators take care of you.”
image: Vanity Fair