‘Scandal’ Cast Celebrates 100th Episode Milestone by Sharing On-Set Memories & More
The cast and crew of ABC’s “Scandal” turned nostalgic on Saturday evening amid celebratory exclamations of gratitude and awe in advance of the show’s highly anticipated 100th episode. “I feel euphoric. Grateful. Blessed,” said Kerry Washington, who stars as the fan-favorite Olivia Pope. Washington’s fellow cast members echoed her sentiment in between recounting treasured memories from episodes past and declaring a fierce sense of reverence for the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes and executive producer Betsy Beers.
The cast of “Scandal” chatted with Variety at the show’s 100th episode celebration to reminisce about their favorite episodes, on-set memories, and more:
Favorite Episode:
Kerry Washington: “The 100th episode holds a special place for me because it’s so surreal. And it’s alternate reality, so that’s a special one. But I have so many that I love. I love ‘752.’ I love ‘The Trail.’ There’s so many.”
Shonda Rhimes: “There’s a ton of episodes that I love. I could probably never pick one. I’m really proud of this show, and I’m really proud of what we’ve done.”
Bellamy Young: “Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. A favorite episode. I’m really proud of ‘The Lawn Chair.’ I’m not in that episode at all, but I remember just thinking, ‘I’m so proud to be a part of this show.’ And then, the one that just aired this Thursday with Huck. They found a new way to tell the story this year, and I just marvel… when people are still showing up with their whole heart and trying their hardest six years in, then you know that you’re in the middle of something special. So, that episode, I was like, ‘Wow. I’m so lucky to be a part of this.'”
Jeff Perry: “Oh, my god. So, as a fan boy, the Huck ‘752’ killed all of us. We were puddles on the floor. In things I actually got to do… when James and I stripped down because each of us thought we were probably wearing a wire, that was a beautiful challenge. And beautiful to do.”
Darby Stanchfield: “I like the pilot. I really do. There’s something really special to me about that.”
Guillermo Diaz: “Oh, man. I have to say ‘752.’ And, if I had to pick a second episode, it would probably be ‘A Traitor Among Us.'”
Favorite on-set memory:
Kerry Washington: “Honestly, the memory I think I’ll carry with me the most is how much we have grown together through the years. In these six seasons, as a cast and crew, we have gotten married and gotten divorced and bought houses and had babies. You know, we’ve really lived life with each other. And I’m so deeply, deeply grateful that we’ve had each other to walk this path with.”
Shonda Rhimes: “Literally, after 100 episodes, I don’t know if I could pick just one. There’s a ton. When I’m on set, I always have a good time.”
Bellamy Young: “I mean, the dancing, right? We have varied skill levels of dancers, but we are all equal. I am, let’s say, 40th percentile. But we’re all 100th percentile devoted. It’s so silly and so fun. We just love each other. So, we just really enjoy each other. We enjoy every minute.”
Jeff Perry: “I have 7,000. So many come to mind, but I remember Tony and I in the beginning so frantically and so happily trying to figure out, ‘If this plot goes this way, what do you think led to it? How did we get here?’ And then just trying to build that backstory for each other of a relationship. It’s just like actor homework that can be tremendously enjoyable when the writing’s this good.”
Guillermo Diaz: “One of them was just yesterday — I was filming with Katie and Kerry and George Newbern, who plays Charlie, and we just could not stop laughing — in between takes and, sometimes, while we were shooting. It just felt so good. You know, because we’re all a family now and we have so much fun when we’re around each other.”
If you could play any character besides your own, who would it be and why?
Kerry Washington: “Maybe Poppa Pope because Joe Morton is so bada–. But, I also think Huck sometimes. There are so many good characters.”
Bellamy Young: “Nobody, girl. Everybody does the best job at their part. I would never dare.”
Jeff Perry: “It’d be really fun to play Fitz. Not just because of Cyrus’ fixation, however realistic or unrealistic, with wanting to be a president. But, for a second, at the beginning of the series — I laugh now at it — I thought, ‘Hey, I think Cyrus is the moral center of this whole universe.’ I was quickly disabused of that. But it would be fun to play some version of the white hat before it gets tarnished.”
Guillermo Diaz: “It would be Sally Langston. Because I really want to do her accent. I’m terrible at accents, but she’s just so wonderful.”
Katie Lowes: “Cyrus. I just love him. I think he’s so complicated and amazing.”
Darby Stanchfield: “Gosh, there’s a lot of delicious characters. I particularly like Sally Langston. I think she’s pretty fantastic. I’d like to take a crack at her one day.”
What do you hope your character is doing at 200 episodes?
Kerry Washington: “You know what? Wherever Shonda wants her to be.”
Bellamy Young: “I hope she’s had eight years in office. And I hope she’s madly in love and loved in return. And then, she can start her foundation and change the world that way. Or, maybe she’ll go into space travel. I think Mellie would do well with commercial space travel.”
Guillermo Diaz: “Oh, man. President. I hope he’s President.”
Jeff Perry: “Oh, I’ve totally given up worrying about the future. I can’t control it. I am at the hands of the professional suprisers that are the ‘Scandal’ writing team. And I couldn’t begin to subvert expectations the way they do. So, I happily am liberated from any responsibility for that.”
Katie Lowes: “Ooh, I love that question! I hope she is still being a badass, boss bitch and kicking butt and taking names.”
Darby Stanchfield: “If we are shooting 200 episodes, I hope my character is…alive.”
What would you think of a crossover with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ or ‘How to Get Away With Murder’?
Kerry Washington: “Well, Shonda has said that it’s never going to happen. But I think it would be so cool.”
Shonda Rhimes: “‘Scandal’ and ‘Grey’s’ don’t exist in the same universe. Because they have different presidents, so there’s no way…We’ve talked about it a lot.”
The 100th episode of “Scandal” airs April 13 on ABC.
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