March 15, 2007
By Veronica Mixon
Gorgeous Kerry Washington gives a surprising performance in the Chris
Rock romantic comedy, I Think I Love My Wife
as the sexy, vamp who tempts him into exploring exotic new experiences
outside of his marriage. Ms. Washington, who is best known as for her
good girl roles in Ray, The Last Dance and The Fantastic
Four has been branching out with equally intriguing performances
as the spy operative with Angelina Jolie in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”;
ensemble comedies like “Sexual Life” and Spike Lee’s
“She Hates Me.” She recently starred opposite Academy
Award Winner, Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland”
as his popular but doomed wife.
The 30-year-old beauty was born in the Bronx and attended the exclusive
Spence School which includes such famous alumni as Gwyneth Paltrow. She
studied acting in the theater program at the George Washington University
and has worked steadily ever since graduation in television and films.
When I met Ms. Washington at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia,
she was touring the country promoting her new film and awaiting the upcoming
opening of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
and looking forward to film project, Lake View Terrace opposite
Samuel L. Jackson.
THE INTERVIEW
Why do you think this Black romantic comedy works?
I think the film resonates with people for the same reason that Chris
is a highly successful comedian. He’s drawn to material that people
can relate to even when they don’t want to be able to relate to
it. He’s not afraid to approaches topics that are often considered
taboo or unacceptable and I think people enjoy that freedom. Sometimes
it makes them uncomfortable but I think they’re tickled by that.
Nikki is such a different character for you to play. Was it fun?
I did have fun play her. [But] to be honest with you, she really stressed
me out. When I was done with her, I was really happy to be done with her.
Part of the reason I was drawn to the character is that I felt like in
the wrong hands Nikki could be a stereotype. She could be a caricature
of the other woman [and] the over-sexualized Black woman. I felt that
in my hands I would attempt to make her a three-dimensional woman [and]
somebody who is acting out of emotional struggles, personal issues and
all sorts of insecurities. [She has] a sense of not being fulfilled in
her own life. So, I really struggled with the underbelly of Nikki so that
her behavior came from a place that was at least justifiable to her. And,
manufacturing that level of manipulation and denial can be really irresponsible.
It’s work for me. I’m a girl that walks around in jeans and
flip flops all the time. It’s a lot of work to be that sexy. People
see you in a different way and I think they take your energy in a different
way.
How did you convince Chris Rock to give you the role of Nikki?
About four years ago, he put together a table read at the Four Season
in New York – he and a bunch of his friends. He wanted to hear the
script read out loud and he called me to read the role of the wife because
that’s how people think of me. But, I remember at the reading, I
was totally struck by the Nikki character. She’s incredible, well-written,
so interesting. I know girls like that. I’d totally like to get
into a character like this. So, I said to him after the reading, if you
ever do this film, I’d love to play Nikki and he laughed at me.
He said, ‘that’s really funny, Kerry. You could never play
Nikki.’ He just couldn’t wrap his head around me and this
role. I kept asking when I saw him at events. Then, he was at the New
York premiere of “She Hates Me” and I saw him, and I said,
‘See I could play the bad girl.’ He was speechless. That was
the beginning of him being very open to me doing the role.
What was it like working with Chris?
He’s inspiring because he’s a self-made man. He’s a
person who has created a world of success around him of his own making.
He has not allowed anybody’s idea of what he should or shouldn’t
do to get in the way of him going after what he wants. So, it was really
great. As hard as he works, he’s a really pleasant person to be
around. He respects the people around him.
What do you look for in a role when you’re reading scripts?
I like to mix it up. I like to change it up Keep myself on my toes. I
like to give myself challenges constantly.
Do you like the way Black women are being portrayed in the movies?
It’s a hard question to answer. I think that there is larger range
of the way Black women are portrayed in film -- more vast than it’s
ever been. For me, I feel that I’m arriving at a time that’s
really lucky. I look at Meryl Streep’s career. She came into her
career at a time when people were really starting to explore white identity
in different cultures, in different time periods and different ethnicities.
So, she got to play Eastern European and East African. She got to embody
all of those different identities and I feel like I’m luck enough
to be coming up in a time like that. That I’ve done films where
I play a woman who is Latina, African and a woman from the Bronx. So,
I feel lucky that as a woman of color, I’ve been able to play such
a range. But, there’s still a ways to go, definitely. I think television
is far more advanced than film is. The images on television are much more
inclusive than film.
With recent successes, are you enjoying life?
I’m a total workaholic. So, I [often] think I should be enjoying
this [life] a little more rather than worrying about what else, what else
what else?! But, my work fulfills me. I think in a lot of ways my work
is my first love and I’m making some changes to my life so that
I can enjoy what I’m doing even more. So, that’s good.
Are you single?
Yes, I’m newly single. I was engaged for a few years [to actor David
Moscow] and we’ve ended recently.
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