Kerry Washington on How ‘Scandal’s’ Olivia Pope Changed Her Life and Playing a Real-Life Hero in ‘The Six Triple Eight’

variety.com:

Kerry Washington finds the fact that she’s receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame “surreal,” her father, Earl Washington, thinks she should’ve gotten a star a lot sooner. “Anytime he would hear that somebody was getting one, he was like, ‘Why don’t you have one?’” Washington tells Variety, laughing as she recounts their conversations. “I was like, ‘I don’t know, Dad.

I don’t make those decisions.’ So I feel like he’s manifested this moment. I’m excited that I get to share it with him.” Washington’s father is right.

She could’ve been honored anytime in her nearly 25-year career — with a resume highlighted by standout turns in films like “Save the Last Dance,” “The Last King of Scotland,” “She Hate Me” and “Ray,” all before she landed the role of D.C.

fixer Olivia Pope on ABC’s “Scandal.” But it was that part — and the distinction of becoming the first Black woman to lead a network TV drama in nearly 40 years — that made Washington a household name. “Scandal” debuted in 2012 and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon.