Q&A: Kerry Washington

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IN "I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE", Kerry Washington plays Nikki, a man-eater who moves from D.C. to New York and tempts Chris Rock's character with her scantily clad ways. In real life, she made the same trek after graduating from GW determined to make it in showbiz — which she has, starring in "The Last King of Scotland," "Ray" and much more.

» EXPRESS: You're looking comfortable.
» WASHINGTON: I had to take off my shoes. I don't know anyone who can wear pumps all day except for my assistant, who came out of the womb in leopard-print heels.

» EXPRESS: You're probably excited to be back in D.C., right?
» WASHINGTON: It's my second home. I love the monuments. People who know me laugh because I'm a very political person with a progressive bent. So, it's weird how much reverence I have for them. The Einstein monument at the National Academy of Sciences building is my favorite.

» EXPRESS: I hear you drive a hybrid.
» WASHINGTON: Yep, a Prius. I bought the very first one when it came out. Now I have a new one that's charcoal gray.

» EXPRESS: And you studied yoga and theater in India?
» WASHINGTON: Halfway through college, I knew I was going to go to New York to try acting, and that meant waiting tables while trying to get a national commercial. I wanted to experience another culture first.

» EXPRESS: Do you still travel a lot?
» WASHINGTON: I love to travel. I was just in Uruguay and Argentina. And Brazil. Thailand. Belize. London. Paris.

» EXPRESS: Where's your home base now?
» WASHINGTON: It's mostly L.A. I've considered myself bicoastal, but I'm between apartments in New York.

» EXPRESS: Did you ever live in a tiny one-room dump like the one in the movie?
» WASHINGTON: Yes. After college, I got a place with a friend in East Harlem and I worked as a hostess in a restaurant on the Lower East Side.

» EXPRESS: Was that fun?
» WASHINGTON: I constantly thought to myself, ‘What am I doing?' I graduated magna cum laude and now I'm choosing to do this. I used to substitute-teach and, because of the teacher shortage in New York, I was always offered jobs. I had to keep turning down full-time employment for this crazy other life and dream.

» EXPRESS: It doesn't seem so crazy now. What appealed to you about this project?
» WASHINGTON: It was the idea of challenging myself and playing a totally different kind of role.

» EXPRESS: Do you ever dress like Nikki?
» WASHINGTON: I have to get pushed to wear anything like that. I tend to be a lot more classic and conservative.

» EXPRESS: So, I guess you're probably not a lacy underwear person, either?
» WASHINGTON: I've had lingerie in my drawers for years and I've never worn it. On set, I had to keep going, "OK, this is just a bathing suit. I'm just wearing a bathing suit."

» EXPRESS: Did you keep any of the outfits?
» WASHINGTON: I usually keep something from each of my characters, but this time I refused. I didn't want to take Nikki home. When we were shooting the film, the wardrobe people would get mad at me because I would strip out of my clothes. I wanted to get her off me.

Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images