Kerry Washington reflects on what she learned from Olivia Pope after 7 seasons of 'Scandal'
Kerry Washington has made her mark as the fictional political powerhouse Olivia Pope on "Scandal," and after seven seasons she has taken a few cues from her on-screen persona and applied them to her own life.
"I've learned a lot from Olivia through the years," Washington said today on "Good Morning America." "She's much more courageous than I think I am. She's very bold and confident and she feels like there's always a solution that you should never give up and I feel like I've learned some of that from her."
She continued, "Sometimes as a parent I think, you know, I'll handle this like Olivia Pope. I can fix any situation. I don't get overwhelmed because she's given me that gift."
Washington said she cherished her time working and learning from executive producer Shonda Rhimes and grateful for having an opportunity to direct one of the show's episodes.
"They're all so close to me, but I will say not because of how it ended up but the process of directing my very first episode was really special to me," she explained. "[I] got to do something courageous and new and I loved directing, but I love our cast and crew so to work with them in this new way was really thrilling."
The Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actress shared more details about her upcoming collaboration with Reese Witherspoon.
"We are producing and starring in a limited series called 'Little Fires Everywhere' for Hulu [so] we're really excited for that," Washington said. "I've been doing a lot more behind the camera directing and producing. I'm actually filming a pilot right now for ABC that I'm excited about."
As for her "Scandal" family, the final days with them were some of the best in her career.
"The very last scene we shot had four actors in it, but the entire cast came," she said. "The writers came, my parents were there till 3 in the morning -- we got to end the show as a family. It was really special."
Washington teased that the last two episodes of the show will give superfans (aka Gladiators) "everything you want."
"We'll end the way we've always done, stuff to cry about, stuff to laugh about, stuff to be angry and give you everything you want," she said.
The first of the two final "Scandal" episodes will air on Thursday, April 12, on ABC. The series finale airs April 19.
