Kerry Washington stopped by Late Night With Seth Meyers November 12 to talk about her return to Broadway in American Son.
Of course, appearing on the show meant Washington sacrificed part of her day off. “I try to rest on my day off,” Washington said of her typical Mondays. “The play is very intense, so it's like being dropped into a nightmare for 80 minutes. I try to do stuff on my day off to calm my nervous system and my adrenals. This sounds so Hollywood—but get a massage, go to Pilates, but also play with my kids and spend time with my husband.”
Even though her onstage time is demanding, Washington looks forward to greeting friends backstage post-performance. “I am so happy when the show is over because I don't have to do it for another day,” she said. “When it's over, I'm relieved. My friends come backstage and are like, ‘What was that?’ and I'm like, ‘What's up?! It's so good to see you!’”
Washington’s time on Broadway has also been physically intense. Meyers asked if it’s true that director Kenny Leon makes you do push-ups if you are late to rehearsal.
“It is very true. But he makes everyone do push-ups [if you’re late]. So you never want to be late because then everyone’s mad at you because everyone has to drop and do 20,” she continued. “He's the best director and his grandmother used to say this thing: ‘Everybody in the bed or everybody on the floor,’ meaning you're in this together. He says don't feel ashamed of doing push-ups. Denzel has done push-ups with him, Phylicia Rashad has done push-ups.”
Where' the footage of that?
Watch the full video above.