Kerry Washington

“I think most people, when they think about the Black Panther Party, they think in very abstract, caricatured terms. They think about black fists in the air, but they don't think about the actual people, and the families, and the relationships.”

“When you buy into the cultural idea of what's acceptable and unacceptable, you reinforce negative stereotypes and prejudices. That wouldn't work for me. I don't love to give advice to anyone, because we all have to make our own choices, but I'd want to live my life in truth.”

“Earlier in my career, I was much more super-sharey. There were moments when I wanted to process things that were happening to me more privately, and I didn't have the space to do it, because once you let people in, they're in, and you don't get to say, 'Oh, I want this for myself.'”

“Before 'Scandal,' I was actually cast in two other pilots. Both went to series, but I was fired and recast. For both, it was because they wanted me to sound more 'girlfriend,' more like 'hood,' more 'urban.'”

“I like how people will post pictures of me with other women that I adore, hugging on red carpets, and say, 'See?' Are we so uncomfortable with love between two people of the same gender that we immediately label it as sexual? But I've never been bothered by the lesbian rumor. There's nothing offensive about it, so there's no reason to be offended.”

“If I were somebody who spent the majority of my time saying things that were harsh and difficult to hear, I would want my visual aesthetic to be something soft and feminine, warm and easy to be around.”

“I come from film, where I only play a character for three months at a time, and then it's done, so it's important for me to be able to put on other hats and make sure that all of the tools in my toolbox that don't apply to Olivia Pope are still in shape.”

“I choose to feel optimistic, because I don't think I could get out of bed if I didn't.”

“I think as a whole America is dealing with the issue of homophobia. We got to be really honest about whether we believe in civil rights for all people or not. As Black people we need to remember the moment that we say it's okay to disenfranchise one segment of society, we're opening the door to move backward on ourselves.”

“I wouldn't just come home from school and watch TV everyday, they had me involved in lots of local theatre. I was a very dramatic, talkative child. And that was part of my mother's creative solution - to put me in workshops and classes and children's theatre programmes.”

“I learned through experience that it doesn't work for me to talk about my personal life. I've had earlier times in my career when I did talk about it.”

“I really love research. It's one of the things I love most about my job. I feel like it's me in the lab cooking up the character.”

“I grew up in New York, so I fell in love with acting on a stage, not in front of a camera.”

“When you have things that are very important to you in life, when there are things you want to do and be - that takes work. It takes work to show up for your own story and show up for the dream and vision you have for yourself.”

“I don't talk about my personal life in the press; that's how I kept my wedding a secret.”

“I come from the theater and I plan to always do theater. So I don't really see myself not being able to act even if people don't think I am sexy enough for film at 40, I'll still be acting.”

“For me, what is political is very personal. Politics are not this abstract idea. Laws are the rules that dictate how we live our lives. What we eat is political. How we dress is political. Where we live is political. All of these things are influenced by political decision-making, and it's important to be part of the process.”

“When I think about any of the missteps in my life that I've made, all of which I'm grateful for, it's because I just so wanted to be truly seen and heard for who I am and was afraid I wasn't or wouldn't be.”

“As a young girl, my real dream was to be the woman in the shows at SeaWorld.”

“You see the transformation that the arts have on young people. It changes their lives for the better. That's where my engagement is.”