I did not have a big role, in fact I said one line and my name was, "Female Staffer." If you blinked during, Ep. 402 "The State of The Union" you maybe missed me. But, let's be real, I would have gladly stood in the background as "Thing #8" to be on that show, and more importantly, I was fortunate enough to work with Kerry Washington.
And I love Kerry Washington.
Exhibit A: My 2014 Vision Board, with KW herself front and center.
So, I've noticed the go-to questions any person has when a friend/colleague has just worked with a famous actor, is, "OMG HOW WERE THEY? WERE THEY NICE? WERE THEY EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED AND MORE?!"
Well, I can officially answer that question for you.
Kerry Washington is hands down, the kindest, most gracious, generous actor I've ever met.
So I auditioned for the role on a Monday and found out Friday I got it. I still didn't know who my scene was with though, because, if you watch Scandal, everything is very hush hush, can't have any leaks (Otherwise Olivia Pope would need to HANDLE it!) So, I waited for the script to find out. And I got incredibly lucky in that my scene was not only with her, but also with Tony Goldwyn (Fitz!) and Darby Stanchfield (Abby!)
I got to set after hair and makeup and was waiting for them to arrive. And when they did, in came Kerry walking right up to me, and said, "Are you our staffer? I'm Kerry! Nice to meet you!" In one handshake, she eased my nerves. She made me feel important and necessary and deserving to be there. Both Tony and Darby introduced themselves in the same genuine fashion, and I don't know if it's the actors themselves, or Shonda Rhimes who sets that tone for her casts to be welcoming to all actors who work on the show, but whoever it is, I felt very grateful to be there, collaborating with fellow creatives to make a great episode of TV.
The 8 hours I was on set was such an incredible learning experience. I watched Kerry talk to her fellow stars in between takes, asking if she was giving them what they needed, I watched our director give them adjustments and ideas for different takes and they took the notes, without a bit of ego, pride, or attitude. During downtime, Abby worked on lines for a huge monologue she had to do later, she was diligent in her work ethic. Tony joked around with the crew and extras, no hint of "don't look at me" BS you sometimes hear about with actors. Everyone was having fun but also took their jobs very seriously, were accountable for themselves but also each other.
There was a moment I thought I messed up Darby's line and I panicked and apologized, and she looked at me and said, "That wasn't you, you were perfect."
When I was wrapped for the evening, I thanked Darby and Tony for being so kind, and contemplated going up to Kerry. And I thought, well, should I never get to work with her again, I want her to know how much today meant to me, both as an actor and a true avid fan of the show.
I quickly went up to her and said, "I just want you to know, I'm such a huge fan of the show and you. You're on my actor vision board! This was incredible, thank you."
And I'll never forget what she said.
"Sara, thank you sooo much for sharing that with me! You were so great, you anchored me in that scene. So so wonderful to work with you."
I cried.
Not in front of her! I made it to my car and then burst into tears naturally. She in no way had to say what she did. She didn't owe me anything. She could have politely smiled and I would have been fine with that too. But, from the moment we shook hands, she understood that I was a fellow artist, a kindred spirit, a colleague. She understood that I'm working hard to be in her place someday.
And should I be so lucky to be in her place someday, I know exactly how to treat the business, treat the craft, and treat others.
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