Kerry Washington

And I do think there's something beautiful about the fact that when they told me I was myself a parent, because I had a different level of understanding of how hard it is to parent and how you can try to do everything perfectly, but nobody gets it perfect. It's And actually the ways that our parents are imperfect, that's part of the journey of how we become who we are.

That's how we fill in those cracks and become the adults that we are. Yeah.

That's how we fill in those cracks and become the adults that we are. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, it's so funny when I think about it. It was a very important lesson for me and also how to metabolize fear and how to run toward the things that we think will destroy us. Because initially, he wouldn't even take a genetic test. He was like, I don't want to know. I don't want to know. I don't want anybody else to know. He literally said to me, if you do this, it will kill me. Oh, my gosh.

You know, it's so funny when I think about it. It was a very important lesson for me and also how to metabolize fear and how to run toward the things that we think will destroy us. Because initially, he wouldn't even take a genetic test. He was like, I don't want to know. I don't want to know. I don't want anybody else to know. He literally said to me, if you do this, it will kill me. Oh, my gosh.

He didn't want me to write a book. He was like, nobody should know. Why do we have to talk about this? Nobody needs to talk about this. Nobody needs to know. Then I think about moments in my book tour where he's like standing in an auditorium getting a standing ovation. Oh, my gosh. celebrating his presence as a dad.

He didn't want me to write a book. He was like, nobody should know. Why do we have to talk about this? Nobody needs to talk about this. Nobody needs to know. Then I think about moments in my book tour where he's like standing in an auditorium getting a standing ovation. Oh, my gosh. celebrating his presence as a dad.

And the fact that despite the fact that I wasn't genetically his, that he has been such a force in my life and has loved me so fiercely. And, you know, he got that in like several cities, standing ovations, cheering him on and celebrating him. And on national television, people saying like, what an amazing thing you did. And even the fact that

And the fact that despite the fact that I wasn't genetically his, that he has been such a force in my life and has loved me so fiercely. And, you know, he got that in like several cities, standing ovations, cheering him on and celebrating him. And on national television, people saying like, what an amazing thing you did. And even the fact that

that my parents made this choice to use a sperm donor in the seventies when nobody was doing that, that in itself is a testament of how much they wanted me. Right? So that journey for my dad to see him go from being somebody who he thought would lose all respect and credibility and masculinity and identity to see him be so celebrated and held up. It's a really important lesson, right?

that my parents made this choice to use a sperm donor in the seventies when nobody was doing that, that in itself is a testament of how much they wanted me. Right? So that journey for my dad to see him go from being somebody who he thought would lose all respect and credibility and masculinity and identity to see him be so celebrated and held up. It's a really important lesson, right?

100%.

100%.

But you can't take away that he's been my dad. It's like he's my dad. Nothing changes that. And it's funny because my kids grow up in a world where like, yeah, you can have two dads and two moms and step parents and they like, the village is big. And so that was one of the things I said to him was like, it's not gonna change anything for your grandkids.

But you can't take away that he's been my dad. It's like he's my dad. Nothing changes that. And it's funny because my kids grow up in a world where like, yeah, you can have two dads and two moms and step parents and they like, the village is big. And so that was one of the things I said to him was like, it's not gonna change anything for your grandkids.

Even if we know who this other donor is, that's just another parent. It doesn't take away from you. You hold your space, you hold your throne. You are who you are in this family. Let's go. I like that. It's so funny because when I first read Shadow Force, it was one of the things that really drew me to the script because Omar Sy, who people love from Lupin, he's amazing.

Even if we know who this other donor is, that's just another parent. It doesn't take away from you. You hold your space, you hold your throne. You are who you are in this family. Let's go. I like that. It's so funny because when I first read Shadow Force, it was one of the things that really drew me to the script because Omar Sy, who people love from Lupin, he's amazing.

He's like an incredible actor. And he plays my husband and he's the dad in this film. And in the script, the dad is the primary parent. As the mom, we both used to be mercenaries and we broke the rules and fell in love and I got pregnant. We have this child and then we have to leave this highly trained group of mercenaries that we were in to be on the run.