Things have really been heating up in Scandal season 2 and there’s a whole lot going on right now for Olivia Pope and her cohorts. BuddyTV caught up with Columbus Short (Harrison Wright) on a set visit during last month’s TCA 2013 and he talked to us about what it’s like playing one of Olivia’s coworkers.
“I don’t feel like Harrison Wright until I put the suit on.”
We all know that Harrison is a man who knows how to dress. When asked about his character’s snazzy wardrobe, Short said, “I don’t feel like Harrison Wright until I put the suit on. The suit represents; you know how a gladiator has armor — it’s my armor. When I go into battle I have to button it up. It’s become my shield, my chain mail.”
“He will do anything for her.”
We’ve seen a lot about the president and Olivia this season, but it looks like Harrison will be getting some action of his own soon. “It’s gonna get very interesting with Harrison,” Short said. “Shonda is playing it really smart. I didn’t know what was going to happen before, but now that I do, it’s exciting. Harrison’s been on the dark side, he knows about the dark side. He has the ability and propensity to do what needs to be done. He went to jail for insider trading. But the relationship between him and Olivia; the loyalty is much deeper than her sitting in a cell with him for four hours. Their bond is strong and he will do anything, I won’t tell you why, but he will do anything for her. I love that part of his character. I love playing that loyalty; a loyal companion, a loyal friend, a loyal colleague, is great.”
About Olivia, Short added, “I think Harrison knows more about the pre-president Olivia Pope than anyone else.”
Scandal has really changed from what it was in its first season, with a more serialized format now. When asked about the changes from the first to the second season, Short said, “What I love about the show [is that] it started out with that procedural element, but still serialized. I love that the case of the weeks are dwindling down and we’re the case of the week because there’s so much going on in here. But we still have to do our jobs. At Pope and Associates; we fix people’s lives. So there’s still going to be that happening, but there’s going to be lot more serialized aspects of the show, where it’s not so case-of-the-week or CSI-like.”
“There’s going to be some crazy stuff coming down the pike.”
Think this season has been wild so far? Short says fans haven’t seen anything yet. “Shonda writes for a hundred episodes, she thinks a hundred episodes at a time and right now what’s hot is this presidential/ oval office business. The core of the show is the OPA, that’s what it’s about. There’s going to be some crazy stuff coming down the pike. The stuff you don’t know is going to blow your mind. I can’t say it or I’ll be fired.”
Sounds like the rest of this season is going to get wild. What do you think of what Short said about upcoming episodes? Are you excited by the more serialized aspect of Scandal, or do you wish it would return to its case-of-the-week format?
Stay tuned next week for more interviews from the set with Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn, Bellamy Young and Guillermo Diaz. And don’t forget to watch new episodes of Scandal, airing on Thursdays 10/9C on ABC.
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(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
