‘I like to be proactive about aging gracefully’: Kerry Washington on memes, Botox, and imperfect women | television

AThe double take goes so far as to say that Kerry Washington gritting his teeth isn’t a bad thing. There’s the literal meaning: Washington’s dramatic facial expressions have become internet law, immortalized in gifs of various reactions and as a favorite of online impressionists. But there are also the roles themselves. The characters Washington plays are poignant—they are complex women who defy strict categorization. Her role as Olivia Pope, the stylish political fixer on ABC’s Scandal, became a global sensation — the first time a black woman had led a network show in nearly 40 years.

Now Washington is back with a new project that presents not just one complex leading lady, but three. Imperfect Women, an Apple TV adaptation of Araminta Hall’s novel, reunites Washington with Elisabeth Moss and Kate Mara in a brilliant murder mystery that puts female friendship — their love, loyalty, secrets, and rivalries — at the heart.

“In the world we live in, there’s a lot of pressure on women to look a certain way, act a certain way, to please, to conform, so when we break the rules, when we get messy, it’s riveting,” Washington says when we meet in London.

In fact, Imperfect Women has already drawn comparisons between two acclaimed shows with precisely this recipe – Big Little Lies and The White Lotus. Like the first, the drama unfolds in an affluent California setting, though instead of the women linking up with their children’s school, this time it’s three old college friends – there’s Eleanor (played by Washington), an award-winning philanthropist from a wealthy family; Nancy (Mara), whose high-society marriage belies her humble beginnings; and Mary (Moss), a writer/stay-at-home mother with a professor husband. It’s the “pick your fighter” of ideal femininity; That is, until family secrets, traumas, and old rifts between class and race emerge, as in Mike White’s luxury resort drama.

Fans of Washington’s many faces will no doubt enjoy her performance, as Eleanor lurches from one high-octane emotional moment to the next – from betrayal by a loved one to disbelief by the authorities, all while uncomfortable with being watched and thus judged (a pressure that feels distinctly feminine). These are ultimately classic themes in psychological thrillers, though I question the power of surveillance as a fear factor. Isn’t this losing privacy for the course now thanks to social media? Aren’t we all living in this nightmare? Isn’t Washington special, as an actual celebrity?

“When something goes viral, it’s so overwhelming,” she answers. For Washington, living in an age lacking privacy — “with no ability to control something once it comes up” — is deeply frightening. She remembers filming the scene in which her character leaked details about her romantic life online. “When we were shooting that scene, a group of people who work at my production company said, ‘We’ve never seen this side of you before, like the level of anger and terror coexisting in your body.’”

How does a show like Imperfect Women, which aims to create three-dimensional female characters, address the way audiences react to “messy” women? It has long been argued that while male heroes on television tend to be morally devoid (like Tony in The Sopranos or Walter White in Breaking Bad), antiheroes still ultimately have to be “good”—redeemable, their bad actions psychologically explained—in order for audiences to engage with them. Didn’t this show bear the same burden to make its “imperfect” women sympathetic?

She’s backing away from this. She says in “Incomplete Women” that there is no single fixed truth; Here viewers are invited to see events from women’s perspectives. And that, Washington says, is “one of the really important elements” — considering a different point of view than your own. “At a time when we are so tribal and culturally unwilling to see things from someone else’s perspective, I think allowing the audience to actually learn about a set of facts from multiple perspectives is a true exercise in compassion and empathy — and service.”

With all this talk about meaty characters, one would think there would be an abundance of complex female roles these days. “It’s better [than it was]. I think it’s mostly better because more of us have become producers. Washington is an executive producer of Imperfect Women through her company Simpson Street (and was also behind her work on the Emmy-nominated Little Fires Everywhere — another TV adaptation focusing on messy female relationships). Same for Elisabeth Moss and her company Love & Squalor Pictures. “We’re not sitting at home waiting to be invited to the party. We’re having our own parties and our parties are about us. That’s part of the reason why there are more of these stories. It’s not fair by any means. But it’s so much better.”

I’m curious to know if she feels the same about roles for women of color. It’s said that the only reason Olivia Pope’s beloved character on Scandal was allowed to remain a black woman is because she was inspired by a real black woman, Judy Smith, George W. Bush’s deputy press secretary. Otherwise the network would likely have found it too risky. Has that changed since she personally rewrote the formula of who can be a leading lady?

“A little bit, but there’s also a huge backlash. There’s DEI denial and policy reversal, so even though I think it’s gotten better, there’s a lot of disengagement and pushback from inclusivity.”

In the original novel, the three main women are white. They’re also British in the book (they meet at Oxford University), but in the TV show they’re all from the US (although I suspect a bit of creative license is unlikely to attract the same ire from those angry about color-blind casting). What would you say to people who might be upset by these modifications?

“I mean… should I tell them anything or just let them go on their merry way?” she responds sarcastically. It’s a pleasure to see her batting this – and perhaps in return – away with style.

But it gives a little more. “It is what it is. It adds something. It adds more complexity and more depth, and I don’t think there’s a right or wrong. I think we cast a black woman in this role and it allowed us to play with some different themes and ideas. And I also had to ask myself: Who is this black woman who only has white friends? Why?”

In researching this article, I came across an interview with her at Bloomberg in which she pressed hard that her work with Simpson Street is not political, he told Washington. (“It’s only human,” she said in the interview.) However, much of what we discussed is explicitly political. Why did you feel the need to say that?

“People need to challenge what it means to create political work. Because when they see work that focuses on someone who is on the margins, they insist that this is political work. But I think it’s just inclusive. So when I center myself, I don’t make space to say something political. I just respect that I’m human and I deserve to have my story told.”

“To tell artists of color that centering ourselves is an inherently political act rather than a creative act is unfair.”

It is important to mention that regardless of the lofty debates about the relationship between politics and art, Washington He is Political, as in party politics. She campaigned for Democrats and did her part to encourage voter registration. Surely she doesn’t have a problem with the label?

“I don’t mind it. I said this when I spoke at the conference [Democratic National Convention] I said a million years ago: You may not be thinking about politics, but politics is always thinking about you.

“In reality, everything is political. When we focus on white characters, that’s also political in my view. Encouraging empathy and compassion — which is what I think the show does — is political. I don’t think the burden should be placed solely on women or artists of color who do that. Anyone who tells a good story is doing that political work.”

“So I don’t mind joining the association, but I also want to be an artist and not be accused of having a certain agenda.”

I’m running out of time, but before I go I have to ask her about the memes. “It’s a medal!” I am a beam.

She didn’t seem all that excited: “Right?! Why?” she asks.

It seems clear to me: it is evidence of a unique acting talent. After all, not many people have that extra ability to tell visual stories — but I also have a theory that in the age of Botox, women having expressions has become really important.

Washington agrees. “There is a study of young men who have difficulty accepting the feelings of their female partners because they grew up with mothers who do not express their feelings.

“Actors are strange people. We wait at home for a phone call when someone wants us to cry.

But the feelings are good. I like to have feelings. I mean I’m not afraid of the dermatologist, I love lasers and I think being proactive about aging gracefully is a beautiful thing. But I also know that my job is to have feelings.

Imperfect Woman is on Apple TV from March 18.