Kerry Washington was unsure about TV

Los Angeles - Kerry Washington wasn't sure about swapping her film career for TV.

The Scandal actress has earned two Emmy Award nominations for her role as quick-witted political fixer Olivia Pope in the hit US drama, but she admits she almost didn't make the jump to the small screen after finding success in Hollywood films.

The Django Unchained star said: "At first I thought, 'Why would I want to do a TV show, I have a flourishing movie career?' But it's so rare that we see a woman on top of the story that the more I read of the scripts, the more I was hooked into it."

The actress has previously been cast in supporting roles as the wife of a lead character, so playing a strong, confident woman in charge was a nice change.

Washington explained: "It's exciting to be at the centre of the story and I'm proud to be part of something as a woman who is her own woman, not as an accessory or as someone's wife."

The 37-year-old beauty is as widely praised for her wardrobe as she is for her character in the drama, but she doesn't get to keep any of Olivia's coveted fashions.

Kerry told the Metro newspaper: "I wish! I had lots of discussions with Lyn Paolo, the designer, about how we wanted Olivia to look. We wanted it to seem like she has a closet so in each episode you see her wearing the same things, mixing and matching, so I'm not allowed to take anything home."

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