These days we know Kerry Washington for her standout roles in critically acclaimed shows like Scandal and movies like Ray. However, before that, she starred in supporting roles, and she explained how she was beginning to feel typecast as “the white girl’s best friend.” Recently, she opened up about this chapter in her career, and she explained how a movie she made with Meg Ryan marked a turning point.
In 2004, Washington co-starred with Ryan in the film Against the Ropes. The movie was loosely based on the first successful female boxing manager, who the Sleepless in Seattle star played. The Scandal actress played her “coworker and confidante,” as she described in an excerpt of her memoir Thicker Than Water (via EW). She continued to talk about making the movie, and how she was starting to feel typecast, saying:
In it, I played [Meg Ryan’s] coworker and confidante – this was becoming a new niche for me, the white girl’s best friend.
Before this film, Washington had played the friend of Julia Stiles’ character in Save the Last Dance, and she had another role like that in the pilot Wonderfalls. She said Against the Ropes was the last time she took the role of “the white girl’s best friend.” She explained why the movie with Meg Ryan was her final one like this:
When Harry Met Sally is, to this day, one of my top three movies of all time, so once I’d played Meg Ryan’s best friend, playing the role against anyone else would have been a lateral move.
Continuing to recall this point in her career, and opening up about why she wanted to play different kinds of characters, she wrote:
It’s not that I wanted to be the star of the film; I wanted my characters to be in a story of their own. I didn’t want to be an accessory to a white woman’s journey.
Not long after she made this change, Washington went on to star in Ray and The Last King of Scotland.
Ray also came out in 2004, and both Washington and Jamie Foxx received great acclaim for it. To this day, it’s considered one of the best movies of the 2000s and a biopic about Black musicians everyone should watch. It’s also one of Foxx’s best movies, and he won an Oscar for his performance. Overall, Ray is regarded very highly, and it stands out as a major highlight in Washington’s career. It also came right after Against the Ropes.
Then, in 2012, after eight years of taking on some great roles in movies, Kerry Washington landed her role as Olivia Pope in Scandal, which was historic. She became the Black first woman to lead a network drama in 38 years, per EW, the show was wildly popular, and she got two Emmy nominations for her performance.
Kerry Washington is truly a legend, and it’s inspiring to hear about how she overcame hurdles and achieved her goals throughout her career. Due to the fact that she made the decision to work toward different types of roles after Against the Ropes, she went on to land some of her best characters, and she continues to impress audiences with her incredible performances.
Both Kerry Washington and Meg Ryan have careers worth admiring, and they’re both super busy at the moment. The When Harry Met Sally actress is making her return to acting with the rom-com What Happens Later. It’s slated on the 2023 movie schedule for a November 3 premiere. Meanwhile, along with her memoir, the Scandal star recently starred in the series UnPrisoned, which is available with a Hulu subscription.