Kerry Washington Talks 'Scandal' Olivia Pope and Anita Hill Role in HBO's 'Confirmation'!

Kerry Washington rose to stardom by playing fixer Olivia Pope on Shonda Rhimes' ABC show Scandal, and as the show's on hold after its midseason finale, the actress gushes about what's next for Olivia after the controversial Planned Parenthood episode. Also, Washington dishes on her latest role: playing Anita Hill on HBO's Clarence Thomas TV movie Confirmation.

Scandal spoilers ahead!

FIRST LOOK. @KerryWashington as Anita Hill on the set of the HBO Film, CONFIRMATION. pic.twitter.com/Hc98wArzZO

— HBO (@HBO) June 16, 2015

In the midseason finale, Olivia not only broke up with Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) for what seems to be the last time, she also went to Planned Parenthood to have an abortion of a baby nobody even knew she was pregnant with -- and Washington says the entire experience has changed the character.

"She's definitely changed," the actress said during the Television Critics Association's press tour, via Entertainment Weekly. "What happened at the end of the winter finale is a huge decision for her, and she's a different woman because of it."

Washington is currently promoting her other big 2016 TV project, HBO's Confirmation, a film about the 1990's journey Justice Thomas went through to be confirmed in the Supreme Court. So, of course, the main topic of her conversation was the upcoming film, as she explained her journey towards playing Hill, the Washington adviser who accused Thomas of sexually harassing her.

FIRST LOOK. @KerryWashington as Anita Hill on the set of the HBO Film, CONFIRMATION. pic.twitter.com/Hc98wArzZO — HBO (@HBO) June 16, 2015

According to Variety, last Thursday at the film's TCA panel Washington was asked whether she'd grown "cynical" of Washington after playing not one but two influential ladies of the District of Columbia. Surprisingly enough, playing Hill and Pope has had a different impact on the actress: she feels "inspired" by the "cultural shift" one person can make on policy the way Hill did.

For Washington, playing Hill was still a challenge, however, as she felt the weight of the responsibility of the portrayal on her shoulders, particularly considering the impact Hill's stand against Thomas, her former boss, had on race, sexual harassment and victims' rights.