Parts of The Last King of Scotland, in which she played Idi Amin’s wife, were shot in Uganda. ‘Oh gosh, the continent is such a powerful place,’ she says. ‘I didn’t know what it would be like for me to go to Africa for the first time. And when I went my job was to be an African woman. So it was the perfect way to arrive there. I know some people have complicated navigations of how to engage with the motherland but I just had to get off the plane and be an African woman.’ To do so Washington immersed herself in the clothing, food and local culture and spent time with an ‘incredible’ group of African women to learn the accent. ‘It was such a gift to go,’ she says. ‘One of the coolest things about my job is that I get to step into other people’s shoes, literally and figuratively. Now I can’t wait to get back. South Africa is at the top of my list. And I also want to see Tanzania.’

— Kerry Washington, Arise Magazine | Issue 18

notinportland-:

The Last King of Scotland (2006)

come on, let’s leave
this suffocating river
in which we swim with other fish
from dawn to shifting night
and now in this discovered space
let’s fly to a pure solitude.

(pablo neruda)

the last king of scotland | 2006