Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn Discuss Real Presidential Runs

Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn—both key figures in ABC’s Scandal—talked about whether running for president is something anyone seriously considers. During Variety’s “Actors on Actors” episode airing Saturday, June 6, Goldwyn said he generally gets asked ab

Tony Goldwyn has spent years playing President Fitzgerald Grant III on Scandal, so it’s only natural that strangers eventually bring up the question he can’t fully escape: would he ever run for president in real life?

On Saturday, June 6, Kerry Washington asked her Scandal co-star during Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, “Do people constantly ask you to run for president in real life?”

Goldwyn, 66, said he generally hears the same line while he’s out in the world, standing “on a street corner.” At first, he admitted, he used to respond politely. Then he changed his tune.

“I used to say thank you so much, but that’s a really bad idea,” he added.

Washington, 49, didn’t buy it. “I don’t think you would be a terrible president, to be honest,” she said. “You’d assemble a really wonderful Cabinet and team around you. And you care!”

Goldwyn agreed—at least emotionally—and joked about bringing her into the mix. “You would not bring me. I would not be available,” Washington shot back, adding a grin to the moment that she couldn’t be his pick for the job.

Scandal, created by producer Shonda Rhimes, followed a D.C. fixer named Olivia Pope as she navigated crisis management and her on-and-off affair with Fitz, despite his presidency and marriage. The series wrapped in 2018 after seven seasons, with Olivia and Fitz getting back together.

Washington acknowledged the push-pull at the heart of it. “They weren’t the healthiest couple,” she admitted. “That doesn’t mean they weren’t madly in love, but they had some difficulties, which is why people loved it. What did you think about the ending?”

Goldwyn didn’t hesitate. He said he and Washington both “loved” the finale’s story arc.

“I feel that Fitz and Olivia are together,” Goldwyn predicted of the beloved Olitz ship. “I feel that what we had at the root of it was very real. and it’s why we could never get away from it — as opposed to being something that was ultimately dysfunctional. I thought ultimately these two people were their answer to each other.”.

Washington agreed with the ending too, but she put a more practical label on what they’d need next. She suggested they’d likely end up in “couple’s therapy.”

Their conversation also returned to how the characters made sense as people, not just plot. Goldwyn joked about Fitz’s “toxic patterns,” saying Fitz spent time in Vermont and that Olivia likely pushed him toward growth.

“Yes, regularly!” Goldwyn quipped when talking about having Washington in his orbit. He added that they both understand what it takes “to survive,” and then offered his own version of their post-series dynamic—complete with a little humor about jam-making.

“I think Fitz [also] spent some time in Vermont. He needed to get out of the toxic patterns. I think Olivia probably taught him how to make jam, but then when she ate his jam, she’s like, ‘Your jam sucks!’”

Even with the jokes, he was firm about what Fitz wanted for Olivia. “I feel like he was very supportive of her trajectory — whether she became president of the United States or whatever her thing was,” Goldwyn said. “I feel like his real jones was to help this woman be, like, her best self.”

Between playful presidential talk and the finale’s romantic reality check, the message from the Scandal leads was clear: the politics are fun—what matters is the people, the care, and what comes after the story ends.

Kerry Washington Tony Goldwyn Scandal Actors on Actors Variety Olivia Pope Fitzgerald Grant Olitz presidential run