I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE: An Interview with Kerry Washington, CONTINUED
By Wilson Morales

Are you getting offered the roles that are color neutral now?

KW: Sometimes yes and sometimes no; and that’s good and bad. Yes absolutely; there’s needs to be more opportunities for people of color to play roles that are written for any person, but at the same time I’m glad that I’m a person of color who could play Ray Charles’ wife.

How do you keep yourself grounded?

KW: I’m glad you think I’m grounded. I have a really good therapist. I meditate. Exercise is really helpful to me in terms of being grounded. I’ve been really blessed to build a team around me of people that I really like. Everyone from my assistant to my publicist, to my agent, my manager, I really like my team. I respect the people on my team and I trust them. So that’s a blessing and these are the people I work with everyday and I enjoy speaking with them; I enjoy being around them and that helps to keep it fine. I watching the Oscars and my hair and makeup team came over early and we all sat around and watched the Oscars together. This is my life and my work is my life and I want it to be integrated and comfortable and I try not to buy into the craziness.

What’s your biggest vice?

KW: I’m a bit of a spa junkie. On my birthday I spent 6 ½ hours in a spa. My mother was like, “What in the world did you do for 6 ½ hours in a spa?”. That’s what keeps me grounded. I really like to get that kind of pampering. I think more than anything I like to be somewhere where no one can call me.

Can you talk about working with Chris, especially with him behind the camera?

KW: It was actually really inspiring because he was starring in it, wrote it, directed it, and produced it and he did it really gracefully. He didn’t walk around like these angry directors. He just seamlessly handled all these responsibilities, which I think is awesome.

Is there a role that someone else has played that had you been given the opportunity to play you would said no, for whatever reasons?

KW: Yes, but I’m not comfortable sharing that information.

Did you have any idea when you did The Last King of Scotland, it would become what it became?

KW: You only hope. It’s like what I said before about becoming detached. You just try to do the best work possible. We all knew that Forest was doing something extremely magical and you just pray that people see it.

How different is it to work with Chris now than it was when the two of you did “Bad Company”?

KW: It was a different world completely. When I did “Bad Company” I was just out of college and I was so green. I think I drove Tony (Hopkins) and Chris crazy because I would walk around constantly asking questions. I would watch Anthony Hopkins as if my life depended on it. I was so the green actress fresh out of college and really looked up to them in a lot of way and on this one, I felt much more like a collaborator. I felt one of the reasons Chris hired me is that he trust my acting instincts and he was really trying to do something new and his work as an actor, so I felt much more able to kind of be a team player and like an equal, which is interesting.

How would you react to some kid on the set if they are new?

KW: Hopefully with as much grace and generosity as A

nthony Hopkins gave me.

I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE opens on March 16, 2007

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