Transcript

RE-RELEASE: Kerry Washington | SmartLess

From SmartLess · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 55 min · 11,952 words · 282 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "RE-RELEASE: Kerry Washington | SmartLess", an episode of SmartLess published September 11, 2025 (55 min, about 11,952 words). It mentions 78 people, works and ideas, including Anthropology, Sociology, Washington, D.C., Scandal, Carrie Washington.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Bean Fate, Calamongas, FaceTime, Jim Arnett
  2. – 10:00: AIDS epidemic, Anthropology, Carrie Washington, LGBTQ rights
  3. – 15:00: Sean Hayes, Aaron Irwin
  4. – 20:00: Anthropology, Sociology, Carrie Washington, Norman Lear
  5. – 25:00: Anthropology, Arrested Development, Performance Studies, Scandal
  6. – 35:00: Scandal, Joe Morton, Brother from Another Planet, Forest Whitaker
  7. – 40:00: Confirmation, Forest Whitaker, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime
  8. – 45:00: Caribbean, Ellis Island, Simpson Street, Simpson Street
  9. – 50:00: Prophecy, Audible, Candy Crush
  10. – 54:59: Washington, D.C., Carrie Washington, Aaron Irwin, Audible

Notable quotes from "RE-RELEASE: Kerry Washington | SmartLess"

  • Full of sin. oh, just in time. Here are the idiots. Guys, welcome to Smartless.
    about SmartLess · at
  • Well, one of them is my dad's book Bean Fate.
    about Bean Fate · at
  • Up in Saskatchewan and the Bronman family, etc. so I did that and then I read this the sympathizer. Have you guys read that?
    about The Sympathizer · at
  • Award-winning Tadada Youth Theater Teen Group. she graduated college with a double major in anthropology and sociology. Clearly not the right podcast for her to do. Before…
    about Anthropology · at
  • Was guest hosting a few episodes of Jimmy Kimmel show and while there had befriended a producer named Aaron, Aaron Irwin, who's now a good friend. So, one night on my way home…
    about Aaron Irwin · at
  • Go sit down. I hang up the phone and I turn to my husband and I'm I'm being [ __ ] punked because Sean Hayes sent me the nicest email I've ever gotten in my life. I just got…
    about Sean Hayes · at
  • The easy answer that I give people. I designed an interdisciplinary major called performance studies and it was inspired by it was based on the graduate programs at NYU and…
    about Performance Studies · at
  • Jason tell Carrie how much you love Scandal every seen as many episodes of Scandal as you have seen of Arrested Development Sean.
    about Scandal · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Carrie Washington — Person · 4 mentions · first at
    Name is not only a US state, but also an Apple. Please welcome the beautiful and extremely talented Carrie Washington.
  • Sean Hayes — Person · 2 mentions · first at
  • Aaron Irwin — Person · 2 mentions · first at
  • Joe Morton — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    But I my favorite example of not knowing was we had a guest star named Joe Morton. and Joe Morton is an actor I'm a huge fan of. He did an incredible John Sales film called Brother from Another Planet.
  • Forest Whitaker — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    Wife, you would win an Oscar because I was with Jamie Fox and Ray and I was in Last King of Scotland with Forest Whitaker and so I had done and but nobody connected that the…
  • Jim Arnett — Person · 1 mention · first at
    I'm so proud of my dad Jim Arnett who wrote a book during pandemic and he wrote this sort of fictionalized this novel based on history and got it published and.
  • Norman Lear — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Your sister. This makes me so happy. I'm in the family. we for Norman Lear's live in front of a studio audience which all three of you have graced us and blessed us with your special.
  • Mark Hamill — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Right. And I think Mark Hamill knew. Yeah.
  • Michael Grant — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Smartless is 100% organic and artisally handcrafted by Bennett Barbco, Michael Grant, Terry, and Rob Armjarf.
  • Daniel Dae Kim — Person · 1 mention
  • David Oyelowo — Person · 1 mention
  • Dr. Emily — Person · 1 mention
  • Eric Larson — Person · 1 mention
  • Jamie Foxx — Person · 1 mention
  • Jason Bateman — Person · 1 mention
  • Julia Stiles — Person · 1 mention
  • Justin Theroux — Person · 1 mention
  • Lawrence Fishburne — Person · 1 mention
  • Nnamdi Asomugha — Person · 1 mention
  • Quentin Tarantino — Person · 1 mention
  • Shonda Rhimes — Person · 1 mention
  • Viet Thanh Nguyen — Person · 1 mention
  • Will Arnett — Person · 1 mention

Books & papers

  • Scandal — Book · 5 mentions · first at
  • The Sympathizer — Book · 3 mentions · first at
  • Bean Fate — Book · 2 mentions · first at
  • Prophecy — Book · 2 mentions · first at
    Right. So, listen. We're going to let you go soon. I promise. But I want you to talk about the Prophecy podcast. What is it? Because it sounds amazing. You're starring in it…
  • The Giving Tree — Book · 1 mention · first at
  • Arrested Development — Book · 1 mention · first at
    Jason tell Carrie how much you love Scandal every seen as many episodes of Scandal as you have seen of Arrested Development Sean.
  • Brother from Another Planet — Book · 1 mention · first at
    Actor I'm a huge fan of. He did an incredible John Sales film called Brother from Another Planet.
  • Romeo and Juliet — Book · 1 mention · first at
    He'd be Me too, me too. And I knew that he had been in talks to do Romeo and Juliet on Broadway and he had dropped out of that to come do Scandal.
  • Save the Last Dance — Book · 1 mention · first at
    Last King of Scotland with Forest Whitaker and so I had done and but nobody connected that the girl from Save the Last Dance was the girl from Ray was the girl like I was kind…
  • Confirmation — Book · 1 mention · first at
    Love with producing at Scandal. The first film I produced was a film called Confirmation for HBO where I played Anita Hill.
  • Book of Ezekiel — Book · 1 mention
  • Django Unchained — Book · 1 mention
  • Memento — Book · 1 mention
  • Ozark — Book · 1 mention
  • Ray — Book · 1 mention
  • Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back — Book · 1 mention
  • The Last King of Scotland — Book · 1 mention
  • The Splendid and the Vile — Book · 1 mention
  • Will & Grace — Book · 1 mention

Companies & orgs

Products & tech

  • SmartLess — Product · 2 mentions · first at
  • FaceTime — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Well, we'll FaceTime you. You facetimed in last week.
  • Candy Crush — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Touch it. However, I have been with him on a return 14 hours eachway flight to LA to Istanbul where he played Candy Crush the entire [ __ ] time. So he is a game like so he can…

Concepts & topics

  • Anthropology — Concept · 6 mentions · first at
  • Sociology — Concept · 5 mentions · first at
    Group. she graduated college with a double major in anthropology and sociology. Clearly not the right podcast for her to do. Before winning an Emmy, one of her earliest acting…
  • Performance Studies — Concept · 2 mentions · first at
  • Prohibition — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    No, it's about booze runners back, prohibition style, back in the day. Potch.
  • AIDS epidemic — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    And it was like the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, like late 80s, early 90s.
  • Safer Sex — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    And we used to we wrote these sketches these skits about safer sex issues and losing your virginity and drug abuse and LGBTQ rights. And so it was like I find you attractive. I find you attractive. Hold.
  • LGBTQ rights — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    These skits about safer sex issues and losing your virginity and drug abuse and LGBTQ rights. And so it was like I find you attractive. I find you attractive. Hold on. Let me get a condom.
  • Prime Time Drama — Concept · 1 mention
  • Pulitzer Prize — Concept · 1 mention

Places & events

  • Washington, D.C. — Place · 5 mentions · first at
    Name is not only a US state, but also an Apple. Please welcome the beautiful and extremely talented Carrie Washington.
  • Laurel Canyon — Place · 1 mention · first at
    I had in BA in BH or on in the valley down in Laurel Canyon.
  • Calamongas — Place · 1 mention · first at
    Really good. and this is about the bean farmers of Calamongas.
  • Saskatchewan — Place · 1 mention · first at
    Up in Saskatchewan and the Bronman family, etc. so I did that and then I read this the sympathizer. Have you guys read that?
  • New York City, New York — Place · 1 mention · first at
    I when I was a high schooler, when I was a teenager, I worked for the adolescent health center in New York City at Mount Sai Hospital.
  • Simpson Street — Place · 1 mention · first at
    Because my production company is named after the street that my mother grew up on in the Bronx, Simpson Street.
  • Ellis Island — Place · 1 mention · first at
    Street. So I feel like that's my once upon a time. Like my grandparents came to the States through Ellis Island. They immigrated from the Caribbean and they lived in the Bronx…
  • Caribbean — Place · 1 mention · first at
    Upon a time. Like my grandparents came to the States through Ellis Island. They immigrated from the Caribbean and they lived in the Bronx and Simpson Street was where it all…
  • Bronx — Place · 1 mention
  • Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) — Place · 1 mention

Sponsors

Full transcript with timestamps

Hello listener. My name is Jason. I will be one of three hosts. Uh I'm an ontime host. Uh you're going to have a couple of tardy hosts uh joining us soon. If not, you're just going to get me. Just a solo episode with me. I hope that's not your future. But until then, uh let me tell you a little bit about myself. Uh I'm a Capricorn, uh Sagge moon. I love things sweetened with anything other than sugar. I uh I've had addiction issues. Um I've got a handle on that. I think unless you put something sweetened with sugar in front of me, it's a real trigger uh situation for me. I just go right down a hillside full of sin. Uh oh, just in time. Here are the idiots. Guys, welcome to Smartless.

Smartless. Smart Smart L. Um, the listener does not know this, but this is our second um episode today that we're recording. So, what did you guys do in between shows?

I had a a little egg sandwich. I had pasta that I made myself. Not a not an egg salad sandwich like Sean would have made.

You had an egg sandwich. Now Now what was the bread? Was it actual bread? Not really. It was gluten-free bread that um you know I had to toast to within an inch of its life so it tasted decent. Um and then um I put a little fake butter on it and then the or then the eggs on top of it.

Okay. Okay. Hang on a second. And I'm pretty sure the eggs were real. We had a conversation with our friend on a different episode of the about enjoying ourselves and stuff, you know,

but I feel it. But it is but that I enjoy it tastes great. I enjoy it. I enjoy. Now listen, last night we went out for a family dinner uh to this yummy little restaurant down the street that specializes in Italian food. So I ordered a nice big fat cheese pizza and I woofed down more of that than probably I should have. And we had some pasta and I had uh

in in BA in BH or on in the valley down in Laurel Canyon. Oh, a little PCH. Yeah. Yeah. Little PH.

Oh, you went you went P, not PH. No, I know, but I say PCH. You leave it off. That's how you know that you're legit when you leave it off.

P. Hey, there's M. And she can't hear us. Oh, wait. Wait. That was Hi, Maple. That was Maple. Yeah, she's over here.

Are you guys going for dinner tonight together? Uh we're going to go No, we're going to go over to our friend's house and we're going to celebrate our friend Sean. Uh because he's

he had a birthday a while ago. Had a birthday a while ago and and we I wish I could be there with you guys.

I know. I know. I'm going to miss you. Well, you know, we'll FaceTime you. You facetimed in last week.

I will FaceTime I will FaceTime again. Yeah, FaceTime in again. I will. I will. This face you got to get

got time for that. Does the rest of your body is the rest of your body as dark as your face, Will?

Yeah. Yeah, of course. No, I didn't ask to see it. Put your top back on. I know. That is a tan like nobody's ever seen.

It's really good. So, do you read though? You said you read three books while you were there. Was it just for the bounce effect of the paper to or do you enjoy reading?

He just opens it up. Let the sun take over. What were the three books? Do you remember them?

Were they all non-fiction? Were they all World War II books? The Giving Tree? No. Uh I haven't finished my third to be honest. What were the first two? Were they just were they just airport fiction?

Well, one one of them is my dad's book Bean Fate. Mhm. I love which I finally read which is amazing. I'm so proud of my dad uh Jim Arnett who wrote a book during

pandemic and he wrote this sort of fictionalized this novel based on history and got it published and

that's cool. Yeah, it's really cool. And honestly, I was reading it. I was just thinking the whole time I'm like I'm so my dad did this. I'm so proud of my dad. So, it's called Bean Fate and it was and it's really really good. Um, and

this is about the the bean farmers of Calamongas. No, no, I think you it's not the

he's a it's a remake of the the bean war or something, right? Calamago the Magro bean war.

Yeah. Good for him cuz I don't think they really got it on the last one. So, okay.

No, it's about booze runners back, you know, prohibition style, you know, back in the day. Potch.

Yeah. Up in Saskatchewan and the Bronman family, etc. Um, so I did that and then I read this the sympathizer. Have you guys read that?

No. What is that? I feel like I wrote it. That's it's written by um Vietnamese American author uh Vietnam War.

Uh, and it's about the Vietnam War. And he he himself um is of Vietnamese um origin

descent and origin. And he came here when he was young. And um so it just talks about the experience of God I honestly I I couldn't have loved it more. It it but it's not just about that. But it's just about such a unbelievable story of of I don't know just a guy who led a complex life and and um there was so many

Are there colored pictures in it for me? Any pictures of him sympathizing with with folks?

So many incredible incredible passages in the book that just blew me away that I would have to read out loud.

I'll check that out. Yeah. I'll bet you $1,000 that you don't uh you won. Yep. Why? Now, how do you decide what you're going to read when you're on the beach there? Like

reading in the sun makes me want to what I do is then and then sorry then I just started I'm now reading this splendid in the vial which a lot of people have read. These are big books. The sympathizer won the pullet surprise.

Reading in the sun it to me it's like uh being trapped in a in a hot car with the windows rolled up stuck broken. I don't know when the driver's coming back and I have a three-year-old screaming in my ear. Um that that that's that's what reading on the on a hot beach sounds like

really. Yeah. Because I'm already sweating and I'm and I have to concentrate on like work.

Yeah. And I got the hard bounce off the paper and I I got the sweat. I got the sunglasses on and now the sweat's dripping on the glasses. I got to keep wiping the glass and I hear all the people having fun in the water and

Yeah. It's I can't You know what though? I'm snacky. I get real hungry on the beach. You know what's amazing is our guest today.

Great segue. Our guest today is so fun. I love her. She's like a big mega star. No big deal. Whatever.

Wait, I've got it. It's a woman. I've got it. I've got it. She's been on one of the hottest prime time dramas in the last few decades.

She's born and raised in the Bronx. She's a New Yorker through and through. At a This might give it away. At a young age, she performed with the award-winning Tadada Youth Theater Teen Group. Uh, she graduated college with a double major in anthropology and sociology. Clearly not the right podcast for her to do. Before winning an Emmy, one of her earliest acting kids was, I got to ask her about this, a traveling sex education sketch group. Her last name is not only a US state, but also an Apple. Please welcome the beautiful and extremely talented Carrie Washington.

Carrie. Hello, Carrie. Oh, let's get right into it. The a traveling What is it?

A sex education sketch group. What is It was not sketchy, although we did sketches. Um, we were Oh my god. That's where we're starting. Okay. I'm

We are not journalists. I'm such a I'm such a mega fan of the show. So, I'm really excited and a little nervous.

No. Listen, it's we're just hanging out. Yeah, you can already hear what idiots we are, right?

Well, every episode, but that's why we love you. So, okay. So, bring us up. I I when I was a high schooler, when I was a teenager, I worked for the adolescent health center in New York City at Mount Sai Hospital.

And it was like the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, like late 80s, early 90s. And we used to we wrote these sketches these skits about safer sex issues and losing your virginity and drug abuse and LGBTQ rights. And

so it was like I like I find you attractive. I find you attractive. Hold on. Let me get a condom.

Well, it was like how do you ask your boyfriend to put a condom on or how do you put a condom on? How do you make that conversation sexy? Because all the research was like people have the information but the behavior change is not there. So we used to write these

love to hear the first me too. I would too. I have, by the way, I have had God, Carrie, it's like you gave me a bat and you put me at the plate and I've just been standing here and you just throwing softballs up and I'm doing all my best cuz I want to impress you.

Go back. Don't cuz I don't want to be just a total dirt bag and I'm just like, man,

be yourself. Well, be yourself. This is your space. I'm a guest in your house. Do you

What What was What was the What was the draft that made it to the stage on how to put on a condom in a funny funny way? Well, we used to teach kids how to put condoms on by using bananas. So, that always got a laugh. Um, but it was really more like I mean there was one the first sketch I was allowed to do was actually a scene about whether or not I was 13 when I started doing the show. So, the only the only sketch they would let me do in the beginning was should I lose my virginity or not? And it was a whole sketch about like my really cute boyfriend who's kind of pressuring me and I don't know if I should or shouldn't.

And uh and then what the cool part and this was actually incredible acting training was that we would the the problems of the show were unresolved and we would stay in character after the show and the audience would like solve our problems. We would ask the audience for advice. So they would like be in conversation. Yeah. We stayed in character and

then doesn't that mean the show is still going? No. Like the show would end and then we do a Q&A but our Q&A would be in character. Sometimes I would be playing like more than one character. So I'd have like a baseball hat for the girl who wasn't sure she should lose her virginity and then like a red scarf for the girl who was like needed to tell her brother stop selling drugs. So we had all these different like you know conflict issues and and I got to develop character backstory and learn to be spontaneous and I found my yes and while doing sex education. But what was this group that sounds somewhat uh charitable and uh uh uh you know um altruistic?

No, no, no. But it sounds like you're like doing great thing. I wish I was doing stuff at 13 that was going around and and and doing uh you know but doing shows but doing shows for like hospitals. Didn't you say this was like

Yeah, we performed at like schools and community centers. How did you get involved in that? That sounds like you were walking around with a bunch of very nice people. I I my I have a great parents. I was really into acting and um my mom had read that there were auditions for this um ch I had done children's theater with that company Tada that was mentioned which is a company in Midtown and this was like for teenagers and my mom had seen an ad about it and she my mother's an educator so she was like educational theater is a great thing and then I came home with all these pamphlets about like gorrhea and she was like what is this but I

I'd love to see the one act on gora don't worry about it we're going to put a condom over a banana And it'll be all good.

We're going to fix the world's problems one banana. What do you think happened on the way to the theater?

Exactly. Um, wait, Carrie, let's I want to get this out of the Okay, guys. I have kind of a long story.

I was wondering if we were going to do it. We're going to do it and we're just going to get past it because how could we not do it?

Should and I lay down or Yeah. No. So, you guys, I was shocked that you asked me to be your guest cuz I was like, there's no way we're not telling this story.

Of course, we're talking about it. Me being punked by Sean Hayes. So, these guys have no idea what I'm going to say. So, it's like if you can hang in there for like 2 minutes, it's which is a long time, but it's a long story. Here we go.

It's one of the most embarrassing things that's ever happened to me. I was shooting a pilot last year and sent a long email to Carrie asking her to help me out and she

Let me jump in. Let me jump in. Nicest email I've ever gotten in my life. Great email. Like, you know, the notes, you know, the notes you get from a fan where you're like, I should maybe call security cuz this person is like really loves me. It was that but it was like from another famous person so it was okay and it was like somebody that I respect and admire. So I was like oh my god I was so moved. I was likewise deeply moved.

I meant every word. So and then there was the ask at the bottom of it always. Right. So but she ema Cara emailed me back asking for my number and said I'll call I'd love to call you to chat more about it. Great fantastic wonderful response. At the same time, I was guest hosting a few episodes of Jimmy Kimmel show and while there had befriended a producer named Aaron, Aaron Irwin, who's now a good friend. So, one night on my way home from the shows, I got a text from on my phone saying, "I'm watching you on Kimmel right now and you're doing great." And I was pleased by the message, but I was like perplexed cuz I didn't recognize the number. And then I decided and I deduced that it was Aaron from Kimmel who was maybe watching like a rough cut of the show because we just exchanged phone numbers as I left the studio but I hadn't put her contact info on my phone.

So I pulled over and it saved the number and my contact says Aaron from Kimmel.

Now I'm at home. Cut to I'm at home eagerly awaiting the call from Shawn because this is my number one fan. I I mean I my dad doesn't love me this much and now I think I'm gonna I'm gonna get a healing because somebody who loves me is going to get on the phone with me and it's going to change my life and even though I'm going to say no to the ask, we're going to be friends forever.

Right. Right. Perfect. Right. Big load of junk food just to prop you up. Perfect. All right. So the phone rings, I pick it up. I say, "Hey," and I say, "It's Aaron from Kimmel. What's going on?" Aaron says, "Hi, how are you? Your email is so sweet. I couldn't wait to talk to you." And I said, "Email? What email?" And Aaron says, "The email I sent you." And I was like, I don't remember sending you an email. Are you sure? And that's when the tone shifted between us. And I and I said, Aaron said, is this Sean? And I said, yeah, who's this? And Aaron says, you didn't send me an email with your number. And then I turned into a total [ __ ] And I go, I think you have the wrong number.

Why don't you check that email address and your contact, then why don't you get back to me? And that's when Aaron was like, that's probably a good idea. So I go sit down. I hang up the phone and I turn to my husband and I'm like, I'm being [ __ ] punked because Sean Hayes sent me the nicest email I've ever gotten in my life. I just got off the phone with him and he was such a jerk to me and he's acting like I made up the email. I was like shaking. I was so I was like, why would somebody do that? Does he think I'm untalented? Like what?

I was so upset. I go sit down and talk to my husband and I'm chatting. I'm telling you, I just got the craziest phone call and 15 minutes in the conversation with Scotty, I did all the math and like a like a shot in a movie came zooming towards my face. I go I jumped up and I screamed, "Holy [ __ ] that was Carrie Washington."

And credits. Yeah, I Yes. I texted you back immediately, explained everything and went and asked begged for you to call me back and I answered the phone and you were laughing. I was I couldn't stop laughing because I was really like I thought I was being pranked and I I was so relieved. It was so so lovely.

Wow. Oh god, that was funny. My feelings were so hurt and I was like I'm being gaslit. Like

he's gaslighting me. You guys have this great now this great like shared history.

Are you jelly? You're jealous? A little bit jelly cuz we only we had our dinner.

We had our dinner. We sat next to each other. We didn't know each other and we sat.

You were there. Don't say wo. Yeah. We were across the table. Yeah. But I mean,

it was for when you guys worked for me. You know, you guys all worked for me as a producer.

When we worked for you, when we did the the uh facts of life live in front of a studio.

Wait, who was at this dinner? What are you talking about? Jason and Will were at a

You know how we when we did it. We had a cast dinner to kick off for our episode, which I wasn't a producer then, so I have

Oh, that's right. You were produced on the set. That's right. But I produced on the next two. Um, and so these

Oh, sorry. Tell the listener what we're talking about. Oh, we're talking about your sister. for your sister. This makes me so happy. I'm in the family. Um we for uh Norman Lear's live in front of a studio audience which all three of you have graced us and blessed us with your special.

Yeah. And if it weren't for really active producers like you and Justin Thorough, that show would not be moving at all.

I do a lot more than Justin Thorough. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something.

Want to put that out there. Justin Throw and he must be nominated for for a you know producers guild award this year because I mean this guy he got rolls up the sleeves he would have he would have rolled them up if he'd had any sleeves he would roll them up for sure with your thing with people not having sleeves

just everybody wears them except him every day of his life he has a cut off by way sometimes people wear don't have them with the gym and stuff but not everybody just doesn't wear them ever

even basketball players now wear sort of like a under sort long sleeve thing over their

You know what usually deters people from going sleeveless? Winter. That usually

that usually gets people to, you know, pop into a sleeve or two. Not him. Not this guy. Not this guy.

Or mosquito infestations. He doesn't It doesn't matter to him. He's fearless that way. He's fearless that way.

Yeah. We'll be right back. And now back to the show. Cara, one thing I didn't know about you was um by the way, what a story we have will have for the rest of our life. the rest of our lives,

but double major anthropology and sociology. A why if you knew at such a young age you wanted to act and do you have you utilized those that degree?

This is a great question. I so it's it's actually a little more complicated than that, but that's the the easy answer that I give people. I designed an interdisciplinary major called performance studies and it was it was inspired by it was based on the the graduate programs at NYU and Northwestern. So, it was like the study that performance plays in different societies and cultures and um and that's what interested me. But you have to to design your own major, you have to write this whole thesis and defend it because they want to just make sure you're not trying to get out of taking statistics.

So, I had to kind of really work with all these academic mentors and come up with this program and design a curriculum for myself. And um yeah, I'm I'm just I'm super interested in how we perform like professionally, all of us, but also how we perform just in our everyday lives.

Um and uh yeah, I think I have used a lot of it. I mean, I think you know what we for me,

I tend to think about characters in the kind of social science context. Like when I'm playing a character, I like to think about how she's become who she is and how she thinks and how she lives in the world and how society impacts who she is. So I do feel like I use some of my I I feel like such a nerd. I've been talking too long about this. I use some of my social

I was about to talk about my character room that I have here and I go into my character room

and I' I've kept all the costumes of my great characters. All my costumes. Yes. Through the years.

Wait now, Carrie. Uh, I'm the dumbest of the four of us. Will you define anthropology for me?

Pause. He is. Yeah. Go ahead. Um, anthropology is the study of society. Yes. Sociology is more the study of society and culture. Yes. Anthropology is

more about ants. Is this isn't just about ants and the ant culture, right? I mean, no, it's more it's more um anthropology is more indigenous cultures and um historical culture. So, not present day society, but more the role of kind of how societies have evolved through time.

Sociology would be the modernday version of anthropology. That's enough will. That's enough will.

And anthropology has a little more ritual, like study of ritual, but it's also a fabulous uh story. See, there's my fellow dum dum right there. Hi.

I like an anthropology. I like their stuff. Well, you you'd like the sympathizer. It's a great book. Oh, hey. Um, actually, uh, all kidding. Wait, did you go It did. Did you go to NYU? Is is that what you were saying?

No, no, no. I I looked they those NYU and Northwestern were the schools that had graduate degrees in performance studies that I admired and was interested in, but I didn't actually want to go to graduate school, so I tried to just skip ahead and do it in undergrad. Um, I went to GW. Gdub in DC.

GDub. Gub. GDub. Now, did you finish with a degree in anthropology and sociology?

I finished in a degree in performance studies. I got to actually like I wrote my own situation. It created my reality.

Wow. Does anybody call you Kdub? Yes. Especially because I went to Gdub. Yeah. People call me K.

Thought of that. Um, now wait. Are you the only one with a college degree on this uh chat? Yeah.

Um, Sean, Sean, what's your excuse? How far did you go? I I went four years and then I got an honorary doctorate, but I never graduated.

I got one of those, too. You just show up. They'll give you one of those. Yeah. If you give a speech, they give you one. You can get one of those, guys. Sean,

I don't understand. You went for four years. How did you not Isn't that how long it takes? Great question.

I was I was two or three courses shy and I just did not have any more gas in me to go.

I'm I'm fascinated because you seem like a completer. spend a lot of time with you and you seem to have a tremendous amount of gas. I

plenty of gas. I I I I especially with the with the amount of tuna salad you eat. Are you kidding? With plain chips

and he lights with that glass of milk and off milk. Nobody kills a bag of plain chips and a glass of 2% milk. Like

really drink a glass of milk. Is it real milk? Like just like cow's milk? Yeah. All every day.

He's going to get in his Plymouth and drive off in a minute. Um, but wait, Sean. Um, so you ran out of gas two credits short. Will, how how how far did you get?

Oh, I made it half a year. Half of the first year. Yeah, that's right. Because college to me wasn't all just about the studies. It's about the social. It's about growing up, being on your own, and like figuring stuff out.

I had already been out of the house, you know. I I I went away to school first when I was 12.

Yeah. I now I heard this story on the show about your clothes being taken to across town. That was I was like that's kind of child abuse. No.

Yeah, it was. And then they made him then they made him plant trees and fix sewer pipes too.

We did a lot of stuff. I mean look I didn't have it. It's not that bad, believe me. And I but I was 12 when I left. So um Oh running around in your house. Locations go to two guys. Emily's actually she was she has listened to your show longer than I have.

Hi Emily. Hi Emily. They're saying hi. Hi Emily. She's saying hi. I'm geeking out.

She's geeking out. When I when I was at dinner with um you guys the last when I was at dinner for the cast for live in front of a studio audience. I actually had not listened to a single episode yet and I was embarrassed and so I faked having listened to a few episodes and I was able to do so effectively.

She's got skills. She's professional. I was able well I'm an actor but I I knew just from hearing Emily talk about it and also hearing my husband Nomi talk about it. I had enough context clues and like reference points to pretend that I had seen but I hadn't I hadn't watched any listened. And so then I went home and felt bad so I started listening and then I was like this is the best ever.

Um Jason tell tell Carrie how much you love Scandal every seen as many episodes of Scandal as you have seen of Arrested Development Sean.

Oo watched Ozark now. Well thank you. What now? What do you guys do about that? Cuz we all know a lot of people and are friends with a lot of people that do a lot of stuff and you can't possibly see it all.

Can't watch it all. Yeah. Do you do you feel bad about that? Do you do you lie about it? Do you make an effort? I I'm just I'm terrible about it.

Well, I I've just admitted that I lie sometimes, but I mean lies. I don't think you really lie.

Now all her friends, it's out there. They know that she just lies and that's fine. Um what I do is you know what's hard is Sean, you know this one is like when you go

when somebody says I'm doing I'm you know I'm in a show on Broadway or I'm doing a play or whatever. I'm always reluctant to go because you have to go and say hi to the master.

Well now Carrie talk about that. Oh, I I I've changed, Will, since since we talked about that. Like,

I know somebody, I won't say her name, very extremely gigantically globally famous who came to one of my shows and she didn't come back. And I was like, I get it. We don't really know each other. Why would she come back?

It makes me spiral when somebody doesn't come back. I I And I'm Maybe that just means I'm I'm an insecure person. I It freaks me out.

No, but how do you know that they're there? because that's the part that that is so so listener for

the house manager tells you so Tracy um when you're doing a show on in New York I think specifically in New York or is it in Chicago too Shnie

anywhere you you end up finding out if there's anybody who has a SAG card uh that's sitting in the audience and whether you've invited them or not

sad card Tracy sidebar Tracy that's a screen actress guil card double Tracy sidebar um so if they don't come back like you have to go back and say that you love the show, even if you don't know the people in the cast. I just found that that ritual to be weird.

Well, that's what I mean. So, I don't want to lie. So, I just I'm like I just end up not going to stuff cuz I want

cuz you don't want to go and not like what you see and then have to lie about it.

Oh, aren't you a person of integrity? No, I'm not. Can't you But can't you go to a to a to a show

want to get busted for Can't you go to a show without anybody knowing that you're there? I mean, like, which is why I go into my character room.

It depends on the show and the audience. Like, for me, I could never in my life go to a show that has a black cast and not go backstage because they will know that I'm there.

But wait a minute, you're saying if you're in a show and somebody in the audience is has a sad card and doesn't come back, you you take that personally.

Yeah. There's an actor who I knew had come to see a play I was in called American Son and he did not come backstage and unbeknownst to him I held it against him for like a year and a half. I was like I I just thought how like why it was you know why why

did you ever run into that actor and ask him? Well, I then found out because I'm friends with his wife that she was the only one who had come and that she was running straight to the airport afterward and that's why she texted me. And so I was like, "Oh my god, I've been like

he's been dead inside my heart snubbing him at parties." Yeah, he's been dead to me for a year and a half for no reason.

You know what I'm You know what I'm going to start doing? I'm going to start going and taking in a lot of theater and and and making a point of not going backstage,

but hanging around outside a lot for for a while. and then leaving and then going like not only did he not come back, but he [ __ ] he didn't even run off. He was here.

He was he was here for a while milling around. What I learned in that is that I have to be more generous, right? Like and I try to be more generous in my attitude toward people, but that was a really good reminder of like you don't know what's going on in people's lives. Like even if somebody really stubs you to your face, you don't know if they just had a car accident or like it just was a reminder like be generous, Carrie. The world just does not revolve around you and your Broadway performance. You you seem constantly happy, sunny. You don't seem like a like a like a dark person. How what what what what would get the what what would get the real eye up in you? What when are you when are you the nastiest?

Finally, we're going to meet the real Carrie Walker. I Is it traffic? Is it people that cut you off in traffic? Is it

I'm not a traffic cuz I'm not a very good driver, so I have to be generous when I'm driving.

Okay. What really pisses you off? Um, you know what? Um, dishonesty, like to circle back, like if I feel like I'm being gaslit or people are keeping information from me.

Yeah. Um, in that way, you know how like people really like to infantilize actors, like they don't want to talk to the talent. They don't want to tell talent things or like just in my life, throughout my life, whether it's through because of my acting, whatever. If I feel like people aren't being honest with me, it really upsets me. I don't

This is This is what makes you a good producer right? Yeah. maybe somebody who's like holding the information and then sort of disseminates it throughout the production. You you understand what a what a value that that is and how bad it is when you're on the other side of that not getting

Carrie. I by the way I can relate to that. I'm like tell it to me straight. Yeah.

Tell it to me [ __ ] straight and let me I'll decide how I react. Right. By the way, honestly will if you come to see me in something like let's say accidentally you stumble upon a play that I'm in on Broadway. You don't know I'm in it. If you came back and you said I'm not crazy about this one, it would it would make me feel I I appreciate the transparency.

I'm making this pledge to you today that I will You're going to tell me when I suck.

I will always be honest with you. I will always be straight up with you about what I think about where you're at. And I want you to know and forget it on performance, on stage, and in your life.

It's amazing, Carrie. The worst thing, wait really quick. The worst thing anybody could ever say when they come backstage, boy, it looks like you're having a lot of fun up there.

That's the kiss of death. That is the worst. Or like or they're like, you guys did that. That was You did Wow. You did that.

You do this how many times a week? Wow. That's the thing, too, is it's so v you're so vulnerable when you're on stage. You're so There's no edit room. There's no score to hide the moment that wasn't fully honest. Like you're just so vulnerable up there. So I think that's probably why I was also like a little more raw than usual.

Now uh in the world of not being told everything that maybe they should be told in the world of series television, Tracy, often times actors will not be told how that particular season is going to end. Now, you're a producer on that show, so you probably have more access to story lines, but um have you had that instance with the with the headwriter about, you know, let me know what my finish line is as an actor so I can calibrate what the arc is to get there instead of waiting to read each episode, you know, peace meal.

Yeah. I I was not a producer in the beginning of Scandal. I became a producer later on in the life of the show.

And director. Yes. And director. Um, and uh, but I my favorite example of not knowing was we had a guest star named Joe Morton. Um, and Joe Morton is is an actor I'm a huge fan of. He did an incredible John Sales film called Brother from Another Planet.

Oh, I love Joe Morton. He's so good. So, he's he's just he's just stellar. And he came on he was like the one guest star that came on our show that I called home to mom and dad and was like, "Oh my god, Joe Morton's on the show." And he was I was never in scenes with him. He was always in scenes with these other characters on the show and I every table read I'd be like, "God, I really hope that we can do a scene together." And he'd be like, "Me too, me too." And I knew that he had been in talks to do Romeo and Juliet on Broadway and he had dropped out of that to come do Scandal.

And I was like, "He doesn't even get any scenes with number one. Like, why did he drop out of this play on Broadway? He's got no scenes with me. Like, why why did he do that?" And I just was super like, "What's going on?" At the end of the scene, the very final line of that season was I get in a car, Joe Morton is sitting across from me and he says, "Hi." And I say with a question mark at the end, "Dad," cuz he was my father on the show. And he knew from the beginning, from his first phone call with Shanda Rimes, he knew that he was going to be my dad. And I didn't know I didn't know until our very until our table read of that episode, like live with everybody. It was incredible. Yeah.

So wonderful. That's it would have been cool if they pulled like a Star Wars and didn't tell you till you were actually filming the scene,

right? That would have been Is that how it happened in Star Wars? Yeah. Empire Strikes Back. They had

Well, you mean in the movie, but not on set right? No, on the set Darth Vader uh just blurbed something else and then in post they put um you're my you are Luke, I am your father. So that the crew so that the crew didn't know, nobody knew until the movie came out.

Right. And I think I think Mark Hamill knew. Yeah. Wow. Isn't that wild? They were trying to protect the the crew from leaking that to the fan base.

Yeah. I don't I think that's what I heard, but I don't know if I forget. Hey Sean, any more great tidbits from [ __ ] the circle years ago?

Yeah. Also, what about Chris Pine's uh audition process for Star Trek? Let's bring Scotty in to give us some light on that. Um,

and do you know that the bridge on the Enterprise actually wasn't a bridge at all?

Was Scandal the first thing that kind of changed your trajectory or was it something else that made people really take notice or do you do you think that that's the thing that really launched you?

That was the thing. I mean, I had a really great film career before that because I had been in like these Oscar nominated films. Like I I if I had a joke that if you hired me to play your wife, you would win an Oscar because I was with Jamie Fox and Ray and I was in Last King of Scotland with Forest Whitaker and um so I I had done and but nobody connected that the girl from Save the Last Dance was the girl from Ray was the girl like I was I was kind of a character actor and it like sort of disappearing into these you know really fun very different films with accents from all over the world and but TV is just different especially before streaming right like TV was a different beast where all of a sudden I was in people's living rooms every single week.

Like how many people do you have in your life that you actually spend an hour with every week other than your shrink? Not a lot. So it's a very intimate relationship talking to you Sean talking to myself and myself. Um so it did it did it definitely changed my like I it changed you know sort of the level of how I walked in the world maybe or like level of fame or whatever you

Yeah. And were you scared to step in a role of a of of leadership like that or was it finally like was it like finally ah my god this is like what I've been waiting for to be like the number one on the call sheet kind of thing.

No I I really there was all this pressure because at the time there was all this talk every interview was about the fact that in almost 40 years there had not been a black woman as the lead of a network drama. Every every article in the beginning that's what and so and I was like 37 or something at the time. So, in my lifetime, I had never seen a black woman as the lead of a network drama.

And um and so that's all my pressure was my fear of like, if I screw this up, they're not going to let another woman of color be the lead of a network drama for another 40 years. Like, I knew that we had to get it right. And I just had to work as hard as I'd ever worked on anything in my life. But luckily, I've worked with amazing number ones. Like, Jamie Fox is the best number one in the business. No offense to you other number ones on here, but he's just

better than Jamie Fox, Django, Ray, like having worked with him in those, he's he's just a he's a he's so generous. He's a team leader. He's a coach. He's a cheerleader. He's everybody.

And so you you picked you picked up stuff from him and like Yeah. I tried to collect like Forest Whitaker is a beautiful number one. Julia Styles was an incredible number one. Like I just tried to remember the things that I admired about the leaders, the good leaders. Yeah.

She's so great. So smart. Oh my god, Jingo and Chain is one of my favorite movies of all time. You were unbelievable in that and I've seen it so many times. It's it's always Quinton has um Quentyn Tarantino has is great at the uh theme of revenge, right? And that thing I watch whenever I watch that movie, it's it's disturbing to see you that character. It's so disturbing. Any kind of fun Quentyn stories? I mean, I I love that he inserted himself in there in that in that one scene. It was so fantastic.

Wait, which one? I forget. Shane and Shane. I got a call. I was asleep in my apartment in New Orleans. We were like halfway through filming and I got a call at like 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and I pick up the phone. It's like I was like, "Hello." And I hear Leo DiCaprio and Jamie Fox being like, "Yo, we need to talk." And I was like, "What's happening?" And they were like, "Quinn wants to be in the movie." And I was like, "What?" So that like unfolded in the middle of shooting.

Really? We were all shocked. But it was great. He was great. Yeah. So Jay, just to remind you, in the in the movie, he he intercepts like the transfer of the of the

uh of the collected slaves, right? And and and freeze them or something. I can't remember.

I'm so bad about remembering movies. I swear I could watch a movie last week and forget the entire thing.

Same. Same. Even movies I've been in. I don't remember movies I've been in. I don't remember. Because I like to think it's for a positive reason that like maybe we're so good about getting completely inside that world that once you leave that world it it stays uh o over there.

I I I don't I don't know. That's a glass half full. Yeah. It's kind of like in Momento like how he forgets like the ne You know what I mean?

Do you have an easy time memorizing lines though? Yeah. Jason does. Jason's unbelievable.

And do they stay with you or do you forget them? Uh no. I can drop them just as easily as I as I learn them. But like it seems like all my memory skills have just been channeled into that one very narrow lane.

It's uh it's not it's not great. Yeah. And now a word from our sponsor. And now back to the show.

Cara, what if you if I had if I answered you I mean if I asked you this question and you had to think of something really really fast.

Okay. Who's one or two of your favorite actors of all time that you worked with? uh Maril Street

and um controversial. Yeah. Well, I I'm being honest. Not a lot of people agree with you on that whole talent assessment thing.

What Tik Toks has she in? Have we seen her on a Tik Tok? What Tik Toks has she been on?

Um and I mean it's hard. There's so many obvious. I love that. That was the first one. And Jamie.

I love Jamie. Yeah. Yeah. I just love him. I love him. What was your first paid acting gig? My first paid acting gig, I played a cheerleader. I don't think I had a name. I think I was like cheerleader number two in an ABC after school special.

Yes. Called My Special Angel. Oh, wow. I think who was the angel? I don't know. I don't remember. I may have done a PSA or something before that.

God, after school specials, remember those? After school special. Jason, did you ever do one? An after school special?

Uh, I don't know if I did an after school special. I did a few movies of the week. Um, those those were good.

Remember there used to be a CBS, NBC, ABC, they all used to make their own movies and they'd run Sunday night.

Yeah. Yeah. Now it's like Hallmark Channel does those in Lifetime. Um, wait. So, Car and the other thing that I went on and on about before, but I'm going to do it again because you're so amazing. Was American Sun on Broadway, which I didn't get to see because I was doing something and then but elated to see it on Netflix. So, first of all, it was it was such an ingenious idea to film the play like that. It was like it was like a hybrid of stage and film. I'd never seen anything like it. Your performance was off the chart. Like it was amazing.

You're allowed to do that. You can film a play on Broadway. No, it was No, we like So, really the reason I came up with that idea was because I I love producing. I love producing. I fell in love with producing at Scandal. The first film I produced was a film called Confirmation for HBO where I played Anita Hill.

And um and then I fell in love with it. And so they came to me to do this play on Broadway, the producers, and I said, "Sure, I'll be in it if I can help produce." But on Broadway, producing really just means finding money. Like you get to be a creative producer as well, but I was like, "Oh, I don't do the financing thing." I haven't done that, but I was like, "Okay, I'll jump in and I'll try." And one of the ideas I had for how I could make the money to help produce the play was like, "What if we film it? What if we can sell it to a streamer, sell the rights? So, Netflix, you know, Ted read it and loved it and he

But Jay, it was filmed not in a precenium. It was filmed. We built us a on stages. We built on stages. We kind of like built a fourth wall to complete the room cuz the play all takes place in one room and um and so we just completed the room and shot it on a stage in the one room.

Your you you your performance was just mindblowing. It means so much coming from you. Thank you. Thank you. Well, not that much, but I I I really want to see it. I really really By the way,

it's on Netflix. Do you have an account? Well, I share it with like 20 people, but but I but I'm going to

I'm going to watch it and then I'm going to get your number from Sean and I'm and I'm going to I'm going to text Aaron from Kimmel what I thought about.

You might be texting Aaron and I'm going to be honest. Now, Carrie, where are you right now? Are you home or are you traveling? Are you on location?

I'm not I'm not home. I'm on location um because I'm doing we're doing a new YouTube series at my company. Really cool.

Um called um the street you grew up on. And it's something I started in pandemic because my my production company is named after the street that my mother grew up on in the Bronx, Simpson Street.

And when when we were kids, we used to hear all these stories about like all the shenanigans that went on in Simpson Street. So I feel like that's my once upon a time. Like my grandparents came to the States through Ellis Island. They immigrated from the Caribbean and they lived in the Bronx and Simpson Street was like, you know, where it all started, where the dreams began. So, I want I interview people that I really like and respect and admire um other than the three of you. And um and about the street that they grew up on.

How do you have room after the three of us, you know? So, so yeah. And I asked them questions about the street they grew up on and what their childhoods were like. Great idea. That's really cool.

That's fun. So, we're doing a bunch of them today. You know, I always wanted to do, but um you can, by the way, you can have this idea if you want.

Eat an entire carton of ice cream by yourself and then do it again right after.

Yeah. And Yes. And is is is it's like similar to that idea, which is go visit with a celebrity the places they lived before they made it, right? So, like go back to their apartment and knock on the door and interview the family that lived there that lives there now and kind of swap stories about what how you lived when you were there. And I think that'd be really cool, all the apartments and whatever.

I have a dream about maybe next season going to some of the locations with our guests. The stories are incredible. It's really

think about the stories you'd get from the people that live there. Yeah, the people that live there now.

You're like you're like our next Barbara Walters. This is incredible. Wait. So, the first the first question the first question that I ask everybody is to learn the name of the street that they grew up on. I ask their porn names. So, I want to know the name of your first pet and the street you grew up on. So, can I I want to ask you three your porn names, not your actual porn names that you have used in the past cuz I know you have those.

So, it's the pet's first name and then the street you lived on. Your first pet? First pet for me was uh a little bird that was a cinnamon color and so he was called Ciney or she was so and then the first street was Emerson. Ciney Emerson.

There you go. That's kind of cute. Sweet little Cinny Emerson. That's my middle name. Emerson's my middle name.

Cinny Emerson receives a lot in these horns. Um not a lot of giving. Mostly catching.

She's good at it. Yep. and catches bird fl. What about you? We had a cat. Well,

you don't have to explain the story. Just what's the name of the person? You got to talk about the stupid [ __ ] bird.

[ __ ] silly and receiving and catching up. You guys are like my kids. He got to do it.

It's a It would be Mu Edgar. Mu Edgar. Now, Mu Edgar is giving a lot of pain on these porns. Okay. Sine sees Mino coming and just starts running.

Johnny, what about you? What about you? Mine's Josh Valley. Josh Valley. What kind of animal's name? Josh.

Josh? Wait. Well, your pet's name is Josh. My dog's name was Josh and I lived on Valley Avenue.

Your dog's name was Josh. Why did you name your dog Josh? I didn't name it. I think my dad did.

Oh. Oh, this guy. Now, Sher, what was yours? Mine the best was that I interviewed my mom for the series and and I was like, you didn't have any pets, Mom, did you? And she said, "No, no, we did. We did. We had a a cat named Big Boy." So my mom's my mother's porn name is Big Boy Simpson.

That's fantastic. Just exploded. Hamsters. Yeah. Yeah. I had hamsters named Trick and Treat. Um, and I grew up on Pugsley Avenue. So Trick and Treat Pugsley

also very active. Trick or treat pugs is uh Yeah. Yeah. Wow. That's so cool. I love that. And that's how you launch into

That's how we start each episode. Yeah. That's great. I love that. So, in a perfect balance then, how often are you working? How often are you home? Um like how often do you like to be bored throughout the year? Cuz I like I think boredom is the route to relaxation. If you can try to find

I think you're right. But so I'm not very relaxed these days cuz I haven't been very bored. I this is this is the main theme of my therapy these days is is figuring out how to schedule more like open creative time cuz I I am a doer. Like I really like to be busy and I like to accomplish things and feel like I'm being productive and useful in the world. But

um I also really really love my family and spending time with them and and being able to read a book on the beach. I'm I'm with the reading the book in on the beach team. I can't do it. Thank you. I do. I'm with that first

or even a listen an audio book. Sean, what if you were in like in a nice cabana, right? So, we've got we've got nice breathable fabric around three sides of you. We've got a nice roof over the top. We've got some sort of a frosty drink. You you're in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

I'm going to be think I know what you're asking. Could I read a book then? Yeah. And you got a nice fan on you. Maybe there's even a fan that has the

Oh, believe me, Sean's never met a fan he didn't like. Okay. Um Sean, that would work, right?

I Well, let me I'm going to ask you the same question. You know that. But it probably wouldn't because I'd be distracted right by the beauty and the breeze and I I'd want to like go do something, not sit still. But here's the other thing.

But it's not the whole day. It's just like a section of the day where you get to disappear.

Carrie, what you need to understand is Sean can't sit sit still and not fidget like and do that and and read a book and touch it. However, I have been with him on a return 14 hours eachway flight to LA to Istanbul where he played Candy Crush the entire [ __ ] time. So he is a game like

so he can just do and by the way calling that a game is like [ __ ] you know like calling a pamphlet a book. It's just like

why don't you just rip the door open and jump out somewhere over the Atlantic and it's like how could I still be engaged with this 8 hours in

I'll never forget that flight too because they fed us 80,000 lbs of food like just did not stop serving.

Were you guys sitting up front? I remember I remember eating I sorry I remember sleeping uh like for like six hours at one point and then waking up and being like oh man I really and looking and Sean's in Scotty same position. Is that your meditation? Is can you push your meditation to check out and like I love that. Yeah, that's that's what I'm addicted to is like the solace of that.

Well, they work hard on that. They work hard all those games to to control your brain.

I know. By the way, they can have it, right? Oh my god. Don't worry. Turns out they they they claimed there wasn't much to grab. They took what they could.

They really candy crushed my brain. All right. So, listen. We're going to let you go soon. I promise. But I want you to talk about the Prophecy podcast. What is it? Because it sounds amazing. You're starring in it, your EP on it, and it stars Lawrence Fishburn, Daniel Day Kim, and David Ooa.

Oh, yeah. I I want to Yes. So, I also I want to thank so many of a lot of the folks that I work with wanted me to do this podcast even more than I mean I really I'm such an Uber fan but my there was a guy on my team named Will who was like we have a podcast coming out prophecy so you yeah it's a bad name but um he sounds brilliant. Will was like because we're doing a podcast we have to be on the best podcast. So that is part of why I'm so happy to be talking to you guys. Um, so Prophecy is it's a it's a narrative podcast on Audible. It's a really cool concept. The concept is like what if the Bible wasn't a document about things that people thought happened in the past, but what if it was a prophetic document about things that were going to happen in the future? And so I play this woman, this scientist who winds up being pregnant. And I don't know how cuz my husband can't impregnate me. We know that. And um and my name is

Virginia Marilyn. Um, so like Virgin Mary and there's a there's a scientist named Jonah who gets in a situation with a whale and stays alive for three days. And there's a guy named Daniel who's a zoologologist who winds up in a lion's den and they don't kill him. And it's kind of like these biblical happenings are popping up and what does it mean and how do we deal with it? It's very cool like sci-fi. And has that yet been optioned? We well a part of why I wanted to I'm in this deal with Audible to create podcasts in the narrative space and I feel like it's a really good way to test out story and figure out is this a limited? Is it a film? I think this one is a film.

Great show. Are you kidding? That's cool. And is the idea then to like maybe if it goes well make it a actual series.

Yeah. Or a film. I think it might be a trilogy of films. I'm not sure. I would watch that.

Yeah, I would. Let me look at my schedule. Let me What? What do you How long is the shoot?

Start. Start. Oh. Oh. Do you want to be in it? Yeah. How do you feel about self, Will?

I want to be [ __ ] number Carrie. You were talking about number ones and I I'm like, what is she working towards here? What is she trying? And I'm like, oh, here it comes. Here comes the pitch. So the number one then she pitches this show and it could be a movie actually. And then she looks right at me and I'm like, here we go. All right. So tell me, I'll tell you what. You know, I'm at CIA. Launch some numbers our way and [ __ ] let me look at the sketch.

Something to react to. Let me see if you'll fit it around your golf shoot around your golf.

Yeah, that's true. That's a good point. Um Carrie Washington, you know how much I love you. You got the email. I love you so much. I think you are incredible and I'm a massive massive fan as you all are.

Can I just say I want to say as somebody who like this is what we do all the time. We have to talk to people. We do these interviews. It's so real. I can tell every time I listen that people are they don't want to get off with you. They're like, they love these interviews. It's a good time.

People not wanted to get off with Jason for a long time. Oh, no. She did it. That was selfied.

She selfied. So good. No one has ever selfied before. That was great. Carrie Washington DC.

Carrie Washington. Oh, she had the full district of Columbia. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

So is Carrie Washington District of Columbia. Not a lot of people know that. So, uh, she's a dream. Carrie Washington would actually be the great name for a like just like a detective series too.

Carrie Washington like that's like that's the name of her character. Well, no. No, no, no. But you'd spell it C A R R Y because trying to like keep like trying to keep her shoulders.

Yeah, she's got a carry. Oh my gosh. By the way, let's pitch her. Get her back on.

Can you call her back? Yeah, we'll call Well, Sean doesn't have her number, but

email her. Sean, isn't that the dumbest story? Sean, that story is so [ __ ] so good. I mean, it's embarrassing.

It's so on brand for you, by the way. You just made the leap. I love that Aaron was on the the other end of that.

Yeah. And then Aaron Aaron's the other person. Did you And obviously Aaron knows the story.

I think I told her. Yeah. Yeah. Aaron Irwin, who's the best. So good. Um, wait a minute. What about um how great she is and she's so she's so delightful and so smart and so gorgeous and so talented and so real and normal.

Yeah. I always say that about every guest of ours, but like I I can't stop. That's the thing when you're surprised to me because we know there's a lot of people in this business in in in Washington, a lot of other businesses, whatever that you never get like the real them and that's the real her.

Yeah. You know, I sat with so at that dinner we talked about that cast dinner uh Jay when you were like what dinner did you have when you were you literally sat across you literally sat across from

Carrie that came back to me eventually. We were at Jimmy's but we were at So we're at Kimmels and she and I didn't know her at all but she was producing that thing that we've all done

and I had the same I had the same reaction. I was like man she is so cool and comfortable with who she is and in her own skin and so real and you're getting you just had the sense that you were getting this genuine

person. Uh and she was a delight. We laughed a ton. She was great. Yeah, she's except for she lied about watching the listen.

But she's a dirty liar. She admitted it. You know she's a dirty liar. She should maybe she should do an arc of the liars. All right.

She's also really funny. Like she should do more comedy. She's so funny. Why are we so surprised every time we meet somebody nice and normal in this?

Yeah, because there we know too many of the others. But maybe maybe that's just a vestage of what this business was. And now we ought to just embrace the fact that there are actually a lot of really nice, normal people in this business now.

Yeah. I I I don't know if it's a it's a thing. It's not necessarily I never mean the business. I just mean the of it. But it's maybe maybe it is we get there are bad people because maybe it's just a buy product.

I don't even see it coming. Will I didn't even see it coming. Product smart. Smartless is 100% organic and artisally handcrafted by Bennett Barbco, Michael Grant, Terry, and Rob Armjarf.

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Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "RE-RELEASE: Kerry Washington | SmartLess"?

Scotty (Guest), Jason Bateman (Host), Will Arnett (Host), Sean Hayes (Host), Kerry Washington (Guest), Emily (Guest).

What is discussed in "RE-RELEASE: Kerry Washington | SmartLess"?

In order: 0:00 Bean Fate, Calamongas, FaceTime, Jim Arnett; 5:00 AIDS epidemic, Anthropology, Carrie Washington, LGBTQ rights; 10:00 Sean Hayes, Aaron Irwin; 15:00 Anthropology, Sociology, Carrie Washington, Norman Lear; 20:00 Anthropology, Arrested Development, Performance Studies, Scandal; 30:00 Scandal, Joe Morton, Brother from Another Planet, Forest Whitaker; 35:00 Confirmation, Forest Whitaker, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime; 40:00 Caribbean, Ellis Island, Simpson Street, Simpson Street; 45:00 Prophecy, Audible, Candy Crush; 50:00 Washington, D.C., Carrie Washington, Aaron Irwin, Audible.

What is mentioned in this SmartLess episode?

78 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Anthropology, Sociology, Washington, D.C., Scandal, Carrie Washington, The Sympathizer. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "RE-RELEASE: Kerry Washington | SmartLess"?

The episode runs 55 min; the transcript is about 11,952 words in 282 timestamped sections.

More from SmartLess

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated November 18, 2025.