INT: Kerry Washington

For
the sake of giving credit where credit is due, it would be fair to
describe Kerry Washington as a real life Barbie doll.
Unlike many
Hollywood
starlets, she seems untainted by all the glitz and glamour.
With a picture perfect face, a sincere personality and an
incredible talent to match, it’s safe to say her career is on
fire. Having gained acclaim
for her role in 2005’s

RAY
,
Washington

illustrates her versatility by becoming an unhappy, abused
prostitute in the upcoming drama, THE DEAD GIRL.

Washington

’s
personification as one of the several struggling and heartbroken
women in the all star ensemble cast of THE DEAD GIRL is outstanding
and moving. Her story is one
of the five vignettes converging around the vicious murder of a
prostitute and the countdown to her disheartening fatality.
Although it is a small role, her delivery is very powerful.
I had the pleasure of interviewing

Washington

last week as she revealed her attraction to the script and her
preparation for her role in THE DEAD GIRL.
Check out what she had to say.

Kerry
Washington

We
were just talking with director Karen Moncrieff about how each story
in this film is very distinct and the structure is purposely not
interwoven. Do you think
it is a coincidence that your character’s name is Rosetta and do you
feel like you’re character appears at a point where all these
stories intersect?

That’s
such a good question. You know you’re the first person to talk about
the name Rosetta as a Rosetta stone? I think that in some ways- I’m
not where it all comes together but I am where the truth gets
revealed. You know Marcia (Gay Harden) and I are the only ones that
appear in two stories. The truth about the damage is revealed
between us and I think in a lot of ways what the film is about is,
how horrible things happen in the world and they’re not isolated
events, that they have this ripple effect both directly and
in-directly with people all throughout society. You know it’s so
easy for us to read the morning paper and go “oh somebody got
shot in
Queens
” and not take a step back and think about.

Karen
mentioned how she “fought” for you to play this part, is
that true? Did you want to come on board right way?

What she means by she had to “fight for me” is well, she did
have to fight for me but I wanted the part desperately. We were both
fighting with the producers. That’s what she means about fighting
for people because the role is written for a Latina and I’m not
Latina although, one of the reasons I fought for the role is there
are many Latina women who look like me and also there was an offer
out to a bigger name so yeah, it was really- me and Karen fought
really hard.

What attracted you to this
particular script?

You know usually I know I want to do a movie when I enjoy reading it so
much that I don’t put it down. You know I just like read through it,
that’s how I know. When it takes me a long time to read something I
think this is probably not for me. This was the exact opposite. I
literally kept throwing it (the script) across the room and slamming
it down. It was so disgusting and disturbing and I thought this is
probably what I need right now. It’s still a very heightened
reaction even though it’s not the one I usually work for- it’s a
very heightened reaction and I knew it would be a challenge for me.

Did you read the script with the
role of Rosetta in mind or were you just reading the whole thing not
knowing?

I was reading the whole thing, but I always like to know what character
I’m reading for, what character they have in mind.

While you were reading it, was
there a moment where you thought that there might be another
character you wanted to play, maybe something you’ve never done
before?

No. I mean this is something I’ve never done. This, I knew was going to
be a challenge. I knew Marcia (Gay Harden) had that reaction. Like
Marcia was initially asked to play the Mary Beth Hurt role and she
was like “I’m not feeling that”, she was really attracted
to playing the mom. But for me, I think actually what happened was I
got very protective the character because she is the only woman of
color in the story. When I read it, I got so nervous for her as a
character that’d she become a cliché. She would become a stereotype
and I thought someone has to play this role with a very intense
amount of humanity and substance. I knew this had to be a very
layered character for it to be honored in the story. So I just got
very protective, like I have to play the character, I know what it
means and I think that’s what drew me to it and made me fight for
it.

Did you ever think you could play
“The Dead Girl?”

I think when I read it Brittany (Murphy) was already attached, so you
know that’s the way Hollywood works, especially when you’re doing an
independent you know you have to piece in the actors and mostly
because I was a battle, most of the actors were on board at the
point they were casting my role. Brittany, Marcia- which is also why
I wanted to do it desperately cause all my scenes were with Brittany
and Marcia, Giovanni, Toni Collette, so most of the cast was on
board already.

What was it about the script that
made you say like I have to go ahead and do that?

I think it was the whole thing, but I remember there was actually a line
of action in the scene in the script where I tell her what
Brittany’s character’s step-dad did, and in the line/action in the
script it says Rosetta picks her toenails and I thought I got to
play this character because that was just so real to me. I know what
it’s like to be in a room and to need to say things and to not want
to say them so you pick your toenails.

Did you do any research for the
role? Did you talk to any prostitutes at all?

We did yeah. Brittany and I spent one evening sort of, Karen really
wanted us to have dinner and kind of chat because we had met a few
times but we really didn’t know each other, so we went out to dinner
and then at Dinner, I’m actually not a smoker- we were talking about
our process, we have very different ways of working, which is
interesting because Marcia and I have twin ways of working, we work
in exactly the same way and then Brittany and I work in completely
different ways so it was really interesting to work with both of
them.

But anyway, I’m not a smoker and she is so we decided that she was going
to teach me how to smoke, which was hilarious and was great. Then we
decided to drive around Los Angeles and look for working girls and
chat with them, which was… quite an evening to say the least.
There is an organization in New York actually, that I do work with
and I had met them. I work with Eve Ensler who did “The Vagina
Monologues” and we had done a benefit at the Apollo Theater for
this organization called “Gems” which is for girls’
empowerment mentoring services.

It is like a support network and a halfway house, sort of mentoring place
for women who are trying to get out of the sex trade – trying to
leave sexual exploitation and to prevent young women from entering
the sex trade. So I knew this organization existed and I did some
work with them, the woman who founded it just got the Reebok
humanitarian of the year award- but I thought that this was a great
opportunity to have some equal sharing with the girls because they
kept on wanting to come around and be “Ray’s Wife, how
cool.”

But I wanted to have an exchange so you know I made copies of the script
for all of them and they had never seen a screenplay before so we
all read the script together and they gave me their feedback and
changed some of the lines with their suggestions and they talked to
me and made me understand a lot about where Rosetta was coming from
and what the dynamics of her life were.

Was it risky for you to play a
lesbian character? Some say it’s risky for straight guys to play gay
characters…

If anything it’s probably easier for women because who doesn’t fantasize
about two women kissing each other? (Jokingly) I already had done it
in Spike Lee’s She Hate Me and that film was much more sexually
explicit then this one was. So I was kind of like that was the least
of it. I much more wrapped my head around the other stuff that was
going on the accent etc. So yeah, I don’t really think about that
stuff too much to be honest with you. I’m an actor because I want to
be different things and do different things.

Would you have done this movie if
your segment was great but the rest weren’t written as well?

No. I just turned down a film because it was a great cast of actors but
when I talk to each one of the actors they kept going “Yeah, this
script has a lot of problems but I think my role is good and I
talked with the producer and my role is going to be ok” and I’m
going, you know Shakespeare said ‘the play is the thing, so who is
concerned about the play?’ I’m not interested in doing movies that
are like equity showcases. That was years ago- I’m done with that.
For me it’s about telling important stories.

Do you ever think about directing
or writing?

Yes, there are several (laughs). It’s so funny because a few months ago
Chris Rock said to me “When are you going to get your Barbara
Streisand on? People know this much of your talent and what you have
to offer…” So I’m working on it. I actually have now, three
television shows in development and a few films. I just bought the
rights to a book. But I want to take advantage of my
in-front-of-the-camera years before I have to start breaking out the
Vaseline (laughs)

Give us a sense of “Fantastic
Four: Rise Of The Silver
Surfer”

I wish I could. Literally they give us the scripts with our names printed
on every page so if anything leaks they know exactly who it came
from.

Will we see more of you in this
one?

Depending on the edit, who knows, maybe? The shoot was fun. It’s totally
different – it’s a totally different ballgame.
I feel like every film is.
Part of the reason I wanted to do this film (The Dead Girl)
is I had just finished doing Little Man which I swear, is the most
fun I’ve ever had on a film set ever. But I also picked up some bad
acting habits from Shawn Wayans. (laughs) I may have. I said that to
him everyday like ‘oh my god, you’re such a bad actor’ and we
would laugh about it because he knows he’s an amazing writer.

So that was my draw into wanting to do this, to get back into my craft,
to get knee deep in the scary stuff again. Although I had chosen to
do Little Man because I had just finished doing The Last King Of
Scotland and I was so emotionally drained, I was like ‘can you get
me a job where I can just laugh for three months?’ So I just try
to keep it- keep changing it, keep myself on my toes. I had never
done a comedy before. I
never had played a Latina before. I just keep on trying to surprise
myself and grow so that I don’t get stagnant.

Did any part of this performance
stick with you after shooting wrapped?

Yeah. I mean I’m not like Forest (Whitaker). The whole time we were in
Uganda (filming The Last King Of Scotland) he never let go of the
essence of Idi. I mean he was in a space the whole time we were
there. I know Forest very well, but I never saw Forest when we were
in Uganda. Never. I saw Idi. I saw Forest in Idi. But I never saw
the Forest Whitaker I know. I don’t work in that way. But I do have
a hard time. Subconsciously I take stuff home with me, even though I
don’t want to.