This actress almost played Olivia Pope in “Scandal,” but was thankful Kerry landed the part instead

Get ready to have your mouths hit the floor. Recently, Taraji P. Henson and Ryan Reynolds swapped audition stories for Variety, and a major bomb was dropped on us. Turns out, before her Empire days Taraji auditioned for Shondaland’s hit Scandal. And, what role did she go out for, you ask? None other than Olivia Pope, which we now know as Kerry Washington!

Could you imagine what Olivia Pope  Associates would be like if Cookie Lyon took over? We totally can’t, and neither can Taraji. The actress ultimately didn’t land the role, but thanked her lucky stars that it went to Kerry.

After not getting the Shondland gig, Taraji has since had some pretty awesome roles on the big and small screens. We’re so happy the chips landed the way they did!

“Thank God Kerry got it. That was her job,” says Taraji of the role. “When I got [the script] I was like, ‘this is Kerry Washington!’”

Taraji’s genuine response gave us so much life! We honestly can’t visualize Scandal without Kerry Washington, and apparently she couldn’t either. But, does this mean that Taraji is a gladiator? We wouldn’t doubt it!