Scandal‘s Jeff Perry Talks Cyrus Behind Bars: ‘He’s Thrown Into Survival Mode’

Andy Swift
·1 min read

Scandal has already burned its share of “OMG” moments into our memories — Fitz’s assassination attempt, Olivia’s abortion and Huck’s adventures in waterboarding, to name just a few — and Thursday’s episode (ABC, 9/8c) will add several more to the pile.

More from TVLine

Following Cyrus’ arrest last week, we now find the vice president-elect in prison, where “he’s thrown into absolute survival mode and disorientation,” star Jeff Perry tells TVLine. “He’s going to ask himself, ‘How the hell do I get out of this? Is there any getting out of this?’ He’s put in some really desperate circumstances.”

“When we did the table read, we were really excited,” he recalls, admitting that even he was fooled by multiple twists during his first experience with the script. “This is an exploration of someone who has called himself a Republican overlord … and now there’s a great deal of dehumanization.”

Of course, as an avid Twitter user, Perry knows there’s a large number of fans who will enjoy seeing Cyrus put through the gamut. He himself considers the whole experience to have been “taxing fun.”

Perry says the most difficult scene to film involved a phone call between Cyrus and Olivia — but to elaborate any further would be giving too much away. (Don’t worry, we’ll have a full breakdown of this week’s events after the episode airs.)

What are your hopes for Cyrus moving forward? Are you, like Abby, hoping he’ll avoid the death penalty? Or does he deserve it after everything he’s done? Drop a comment with your thoughts below.

Launch Gallery: <i>Scandal</i> Season 6 Photos

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter