Kerry Washington - Brief Article

Interview, June, 2001 by Michael Atkinson

YOUNG, CREDIBLE, INDELIBLE--AN ACTRESS ARRIVES

Jim Mckay's new film Our Song burns with conviction and spontaneity, but something else happens during this slice-of-life exploration of everyday life for three Brooklyn teenagers--Kerry Washington becomes an indelible presence. Certainly, no other young African-American actress is quite as believable, as touchable.

Aged 22 at the time of the shoot, the actress exudes an honesty beyond her years--even though she plays a 15-year-old girl. "I worked on her walk, how she stands, how she looks people in the eye. While working it out I had lunch with a cousin of mine who's 16. Listening to her, I thought, You couldn't pay me to be a teenager again. Then I realized--I was being paid!"

Our Song is Washington's debut, but it's opening between her second and third films--she played a single mom in Save the Last Dance and a shoplifter in the upcoming indie Lift. Now 24, she's tasted filmmaking life on both sides of the tracks: "On Our Song there were days I was on the set not to act, but to watch for cops because we didn't have a permit to shoot on the subway. On the other hand, one morning on Save the Last Dance, I found a new DVD player in my trailer, with a stack of DVDs. I couldn't believe it. It took me a week just to open it."

Michael Atkinson is a film critic for The Village Voice.