NEW YORK — After playing the on-screen wife of such powerful and adulterous men as Ray Charles and Idi Amin, it’s easy to see why Kerry Washington might want to do a little role reversal. And the actress has just that opportunity in “I Think I Love My Wife,” directed by Chris Rock and opening Friday.
Washington stars as Nikki, a scantily clad temptress who struts her way back into the life of old acquaintance Richard Cooper (Rock) just as he is experiencing marital problems. Their relationship starts out innocently enough, her precarious hemlines notwithstanding, but casual lunches soon turn into the foundation for a full-blown affair, as Nikki unabashedly pursues his affections.
“I think Nikki was one of these girls who has always been the prettiest girl in the room, which wasn’t my experience at all….From a fairly young age, I understood the importance of being able to communicate with people and take responsibility for myself,” explains Washington, who, curled up on a couch in a sweet pink cocktail number and ladylike pumps, looks much more the steadfast wife than the comely adulteress. Indeed, Washington is so different from her character that when she read the script four years ago, it was for the role of Brenda, Richard’s wife.
“I remember sitting at the table and really kind of being smitten with this Nikki character…she was totally an enigma to me and I really wanted that challenge,” says the actress, 30, who recently parted ways with her fiancé, David Moscow. “So I went up to Chris after the reading and said, ‘You know, if you get this movie made, I’d really like to play Nikki.’ And he laughed in my face.”
Joke’s on him, though. After a long dance in which Washington tried to prove her bad-girl sass to Rock, he subsequently offered her the part only to have her question his directorial skills: “I was like, ‘I don’t know Chris…”Head of State” is not my favorite movie,'” she recalls.
Washington’s entrée into the professional acting world had a similar tug and pull. Though she performed in plays throughout high school at Spence in New York and attended George Washington University on a theater scholarship, it wasn’t until a summer during college that she wholeheartedly gave into her urge.
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“I come from a really academic family. My parents were very sensible people, so it seemed like a really risky, dangerous life to choose,” says Washington, whose mother is a retired professor and father is a real estate broker.
Next, she will appear in this summer’s sequel to “Fantastic Four” and will begin shooting “Lakeview Terrace” with Samuel L. Jackson and the indie flick “Life Is Hot in Cracktown.” Whether she will keep up her usual tradition of holding onto a memento from any of these film sets remains to be seen — she kept a painting from “Ray” and Prada boots from “Little Man.” But “I Think I Love My Wife” has already proved an exception. Certainly the lacy underthings of one pivotal scene provided zero temptation.
“I took nothing of Nikki with me,” laughs Washington, who gained weight for the role at Rock’s request. “Why would I want to keep the lingerie that she wore to seduce another woman’s husband?”