When it comes to Kerry Washington’s family life with her husband Nnamdi Asomugha and their three kids, the actress typically doesn’t publicly share much.
But in a recent interview, the “Scandal” star gave the Daily News rare insight into why she decided to keep her personal life under the radar after being more “public” earlier in her career.
“I was much more public about my personal life, and I realized that when you give that much, you can’t arbitrarily decide ‘Oh, now I don’t want to talk about it,’” Washington told the News. “I think from that point on, I really wanted to be more protective of my personal life so that I felt like it could belong to me.”
The New York native says she wanted to be sure her family’s choices were “authentic” and “not about the performance of who we are in the world.”
Much like the role Washington plays in the new film “Shadow Force,” which hits theaters Friday, The film follows two former shadow operatives Kyrah, played by Washington, and her husband Issac, played by Omar Sy. The couple is on the run from their old team while trying to protect their son from the bounty of their heads.
As a mother, Washington says she found the film’s plot relatable as someone who in her personal life is “willing to do whatever it takes to protect” her children. When she’s out of town with her kids, the Emmy-winning actress frequently enters hotels through kitchens to keep the paparazzi from seeing them.
“When they were really little, we never went through the front door, Washington explained. “And so they really thought that, like when you enter a hotel, you walk into the kitchen.”
She continued: “It was a very theoretical idea before I became a parent, and then you become a parent, and you’re like, ‘Oh no, I would literally kill for this person.’”
Aside from “Shadow Force” bringing Washington’s first starring role in an action movie, she also served as one of its producers, which has already earned her the prestigious 2025 Ossie Davis Award for Innovation in Filmmaking.
The 48-year-old believes the action-packed thriller “allows a lot of us to have a window into a world that we may not think is ours,” she told The News. “I may not be Black, or I may not be a mom, but I enter into this story, and I watch it and I still see myself because I’m a human being and I want to be safe.”
“Shadow Force,” which also stars recent Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Method Man, hits theaters on May 9.
