Why Kerry Washington Says She Refused to Play the 'White Girl's Best Friend' After Movie with Meg Ryan

"Playing the role against anyone else would have been a lateral move," Washington wrote in her memoir 'Thicker Than Water' of her appreciation for Ryan

Kerry Washington refuses to be pigeonholed.

The actress opened up in her new memoir, Thicker Than Water, about why she hasn't played "the white girl's best friend" character again since she made 2004's Against the Ropes, costarring Meg Ryan.

"In it, I played [Ryan's] coworker and confidante — this was becoming a new niche for me, the white girl's best friend," Washington, 46, wrote in the book, per Entertainment Weekly.

She goes on to say that When Harry Met Sally, one of Ryan's most iconic romantic comedies, is in her "top three" favorite films "of all time," which influenced her career decisions going forward.

"Once I'd played Meg Ryan's best friend, playing the role against anyone else would have been a lateral move," Washington said in the book, per EW.

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Related: The Biggest Bombshells from Kerry Washington's New Memoir: From Her Secret Wedding to a Heartbreaking Miscarriage

Washington recently chatted with PEOPLE about her new book, in which she drops bombshells ranging from being sexually abused as a child to her experience with an eating disorder in college.

Other parts of the book detail the Scandal actress's decision to have an abortion in her 20s, having terrifying panic attacks as a child and more.

"I've been a very private person when it comes to the public, so I never thought that I would sit down and write a soup-to-nuts memoir about my life," the star told PEOPLE. "I can't believe I wrote it."

But after learning a painful family secret — that her dad is not her biological father — Washington looked back at her past trauma, and went on a journey of self-reflection. Now she's pulling back the curtain as an act of radical transparency.

Related: Kerry Washington Celebrates Finishing Her New Memoir 'Thicker Than Water' That Took ‘4 Years to Write’

Of the latter discovery, the Emmy-winner told PEOPLE that it turned her "world upside down," but that her mom and dad's honesty has brought them all closer than ever before.

"My parents are really, really special people," she said. "At some point we have to accept that our parents do the best they can and then we have to fill in the gap by parenting ourselves and being the adults we want to be. I always knew how much they loved me."

Personally, Washington added, "I think I learned a lot about myself, why I struggled and felt incomplete a lot of my life."

The Django Unchained actress is currently working with a team to try and locate her birth father, but is happy with however things turn out.

"I've learned to try and let that stuff go. I deserve to live fully in my truth. And with joy," she said.

Thicker Than Water is available now wherever books are sold.

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