Playing crisis manager Olivia Pope on "Scandal" is no easy job, and there's no question that Kerry Washington pulls it off with flying colors. After all, she prevents disasters and carries on an affair with the president all while wearing stilletos.
But Washington -- who is also known for her roles in "Ray" and "Django Unchained" -- insists that checking "Scandal" ratings terrifies her.
"Looking at ratings is like stepping on the scales, and it's why I never weigh myself," she told The Guardian. "If the number is a number you don't want it to be, then you're miserable, and if it's a number you want it to be, you spend the rest of the day thinking, oh, I should never eat again so the number stays where it is, right? It's just better that I don't get on the scales."
Not that Washington has anything to worry about. In April, "Scandal" hit a series high and racked in more viewers than its biggest competition, Grey's Anatomy -- both shows are created by Shonda Rhimes -- with 2.8 million viewers in the coveted 18-49 demo.
Although "Scandal" is now one of ABC's biggest hits, its first season only had six episodes ... which worked out in the series' favor, according to Washington.
"We weren't sure if we were going to have a second season and our first season only had six episodes, which actually was really good because the writers said, 'if all we have is six, let's just put it all on the table, we don't wanna hold back,'" she told Ellen Degeneres. "So then the culture of the show became [that] we just go for it, we don't hold back, if we can do more, we do more -- our goal is to shock you."
Season 3 of "Scandal" will air on ABC in the fall.
