On the latest episode of We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle, Kerry Washington discussed how she needed to remind herself to be the main character in her life, and not just in TV shows.
LISTEN NOW: We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle | Kerry Washington
While nine-time Emmy award nominee and actress Kerry Washington may appear to fit an "egocentric actress" stereotype, she sat down on author Glennon Doyle’s podcast and revealed she was anything but. In fact, she recalled how it took her years to learn how to think of herself first, calling the self-discovery a “revelation.” While saying she loves to, “play the supporting character of the wife, the mother,” Washington is also figuring out how to, “be at the center of my own story for the first time.”
“It's my life and I can choose to be supportive… But there have to be times when I'm the lead character in my life,” she explained. “My husband? Lead character of his life. I love that I get to be a supporting character in his story. Also, he should be a supporting character in mine.” It’s not that she’s demanding to be the center of attention by any means, but rather, Washington had to advocate that she have a balance between helping others and being helped herself. “That dance of like, I'm able to be supporting and I'm able to be the lead is so important.”
A balance between selfishness and selflessness is essential to Washington, who also pointed out the influence of societal pressure. “I feel like for women, we're often taught that we are only supporting characters and that we don't have our own story,” she began. “And for me, I know that's how I spent most of my life, is feeling like I've always been the supporting character. It's the biggest thing that I learned being, you know, the lead character on a network drama was she was the lead character on that show.”
Of course, Washington was referring to her role as Olivia Pope on the hit TV show Scandal. Running for seven seasons over six straight years, Scandal was lauded for its focus on an empowered, black businesswoman in politics, while still maintaining a classic "soap opera"-like setting.
“[Scandal] was the beginning of me being like, oh, maybe I'm the lead character,” she told Doyle. “If I'm the lead character at work, what would it mean to be the lead character in life?” Saying that her character Olivia taught her, “what it was like to be the lead, to be the team captain,” Washington continued, “I'm really grateful that I got to play her before stepping into this kind of revelatory process of unfolding in my family and in my identity.”
To listen to the full interview, check out the podcast episode from We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle above, and on the free Audacy app.