"Scandal" Star Tony Goldwyn on Presidential Perks

Oh my gosh. Well, it's great to have you here and great to have you.

Thank you.

This is not my dog, by the way.

Nor is it my dog. She just showed up in the Young Hollywood Studio. No, this is Georgie our resident mascot and she apparently she loves you. You advise that I was leaving my wife for you. You'd be there right. She would be right there.

spoiler alert for season 3 on Scandal. Georgie comes into the picture.

Georgie is in the White House.

Georgie is in the White House. Fitz gets a dog. I mean it wouldn't be a, would it?

No, not at all. You have hair all over your shirt. That's alright. It's fine. No, it's fine. So Carrie was in here and and we talked about you know all the people sort of like politically and otherwise who watched the show and approached her. I know Michelle Obama watches the show. She's a Jamie Fox. I know they work, I mean they work together. He's a huge gladiator. Who is who's sort of been sort of the most surprising person that's approached you and said they're a fan of the show? Yeah.

Well, like Carrie mentioned, you know, the thing that most shocked me was the people in Washington. Bye Georgie. I was in Washington in May and everybody was obsessed with Scandal.

Was this the White House dinner?

It was the White House Correspondents Dinner and I was shocked. I mean these people who were really impressive people.

Yeah. Because you're a political guy. I mean you're into it.

Yeah, I love politics. I'm really interested in it. Uh, I kind of know who they all are. Prior to the show. Not even as a result of the show. So it's a perfect kind of thing.

Have you met President Obama? I know you've met Bill Clinton.

Not yet. President Clinton, I've met President Clinton briefly once. I've not yet met President Obama. I saw him speak at the Boston Democratic Convention in 04. I was very close to the stage and saw this guy come out and give this speech and I thought, oh my god, who is that guy? That was the the famous speech that made his career. Yeah. But in person, I imagine too. It was that much more impressive.

It was amazing. Yeah. It was really inspiring. He's an, you know, he's a rockstar. Uh so anyway, yeah, that that that was the the main thing.

One thing I love about the show is and I think this is part of Shonda's brilliance, there are those moments that you and Carrie, how what you call the one minute. Right. As an actor, having that silence and having that being filled with all the stuff that you guys have, is that a harder thing to do as an actor?

No. No, it's a great kind of gift to have the time to do that. Um, and to be able to tell a story between actors by just kind of being together. Because one of the things about Scandal is there's always so much going on under every scene that's not said, particularly my scenes with Carrie. Right. You know, there's all this And and with everybody, really, but but particularly with us, there's so much unspoken story that we never get to communicate while we're saying something else or being inhibited from saying what's really on our minds. So to have these one-minute sequences where we can just be with each other communicating everything we want to share. Yeah. That's beyond words. Um, it's an amazing kind of acting exercise.

Yeah. And it's so true to real relationships, too.

Yeah. And audiences really dig it, which is incredible.

What has been the moment that has made you the most so far?

Well, in season 2, the the episode at Verna's funeral. I've been telling Olivia that we belong together. Um Edison has proposed marriage and that she must not let that happen. That she must wait for me and we must be together. We had this beautiful love scene in Cyrus' office. And then uh several scenes later, we were we were at this funeral and she comes up and says, "Okay, I'll I'll I'm I'm I'm I've told Edison no. I'll wait for you. Fitz. I love you. I'll wait for you." And I turn to her and I say, "Oh yeah, about that. I changed my mind about that. Don't wait for me. I don't I don't want you." And I cold. I just ice her. And when we, you understand later how that happened, but when that when we were reading it, I had no idea that that was going to happen and I literally couldn't get the words out.

Really? I was like It gets real at the table.

Yeah. At your table. Yeah, I couldn't I couldn't you know formulate the words and Shonda, I remember looking over at Shonda, because they're all around this big table and she's like, "It's going to be okay."

Otherwise, you would have gone home and been very upset. You are like the Scandal fans.

I was really shaking up, but the way we do the table readings is great because we have the same experience of the show that the fans have. And we're constantly shocked and you know, amazed by what the big moves that Shonda makes. You know in her writing. And then makes it all work somehow.

Um we have a couple of your tweet picks behind you on the monitor. You look afraid to look behind your shoulder. Is this now, is this from Season 3 shooting?

No, this was from the other night. Yes, Season 3. This was late at night shooting.

So now we know what you're like on set. You're the sleeper.

I was sleeping. I was like it was like 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. And Denise, our our makeup artist, was like, I was laying on the just between shots, trying to rest and keep my head together and she comes up with her makeup brush. So I was I think it was Friday night.

And then there's one more that we have and I don't think this is from Scandal. I think you're you must be directing cuz this is what directors do. They sit in bathtubs and line up a shot.

Oh no. That was um, yeah, that was the episode I directed of Scandal. And there was a scene that ended up, I think not being um in the show where somebody was like dead in the bathtub. So yeah, so there's a reason why you're framing your face.

Yeah, probably just showing off. Trying to pretend like I'm a director.

So we have a game for you called Presidential Perks. We're we're going to give you two scenarios and you tell me which would you rather? Okay. And these are real life Presidential Perks.

Really? Okay.

Yes. Okay. Good. So would you rather have at your disposal a 24-hour live-in executive chef or what they have on the grounds, the home basketball court, the tennis courts, the jogging track.

The chef for the grounds.

Pro, oh, why? Why would that be?

I love eating. I love food. Yeah. No, absolutely.

Okay, would you rather have Air Force One or Camp David?

Air Force One.

Really? Oh, that would be awesome. Where would you go? What was the first for you?

Everywhere. Everywhere. Can you imagine? Yeah, private air travel in Air Force One, especially. What would it be bad, right? Then you've got the helicopter, too, at your disposal.

Right. Okay. Exactly. What would you rather have? The Blair House, which I don't know if you know what that is.

I do. It's for people who don't know, it's the guest house on the grounds, or the Beast, which is the Presidential car, which incidentally shoots tear gas and has infrared lights. I think it'd be pretty badass.

I'd go for Blair House. Not because I wouldn't want to have guests, but because you could have the most awesome guests and parties.

Would you rather have the home movie theater or 24-hour executive pastry chef?

Home movie theater.

You would have to. I mean you're a director actor. I mean,

Yeah, how fun would that be?

And then last but not least, since you are the President, no one's gonna say no, what one person, living or dead, would you invite to dinner at the White House?

Um, it would have to be George Washington. How cool would that be?

It'd be awesome.

Have George Washington at dinner. He might be a little intimidating. So I don't know, but Yeah, George Washington. That'd be good.

That's a good one. So before um we let you go, I wanted to point out. Um Because I know you're being chased in airports from the Scandal fans. Now you've got the Divergent fans too.

Right. So we're chased from two directions. We'll be fantastic. I love it. Bring it on.

No arguments there, right? It was delightful to have you here. I know a lot of ladies and gents in the Young Hollywood Studio are thrilled to have you here.

Oh, thank you.

Congratulations. Congrats on the new series, too.

Thank you. Can't wait.