Kerry Washington on “Mother and Child”

MakingOf: What was it like on set? Was it as heavy as you’d maybe imagine?

(Kerry Washington): No, I mean one of the fun things for me was pretty early on I had a conversation with Rodrigo [Garcia, Director] because I felt that Lucy [Kerry’s character] was funny. I felt that there were things about her quirky neuroses that were kind of laughable, and I wanted to make sure it was ok for me to explore that. So that was really fun—to play those parts of her character. I find that part of her really charming, and sweet, and crazy… but charming and sweet! So that was fun to do. And yeah, I mean, the tough moments were tough, but great, you know? As an actor, we’re very strange people. We’re the only people in the world who sit at home waiting for someone to give us a reason to be miserable. So it was great.

(MO): Do you think that when you approach a role it’s the same? Your method?

(KW): No. I always joke that I have a toolbox and every character requires a different set of tools from that toolbox. I never know what it’s going to take, and even some days I’ll be on set really frustrated and I’ll go ‘Oh, Yeah!’ there’s that one screwdriver, you know? ‘What if I did that?’ or ‘What if we used a scalpel instead of a…’ you know? You’re always playing around. It’s a tricky craft—it’s not a science, what we do.

(MO): What was it like the first time you saw the movie?

(KW): One of the things I really loved about watching the movie was watching it with Noami [Watts, co-star]—and Annette [Bening, co-star] wasn’t there when we premiered it at Toronto—but the women’s stories are so separate, so watching them with each other, we’ve been able to really celebrate each other. The joy of being able to talk to Annette about her performance, and how moving it is to me, I feel really lucky to be in this film with these women. They are, to me, at the top of the game, and I, for a long time, have looked up to both of them and their craft and talent. I feel really, really excited to be in this film with them.