{blackbabes} Kerry Washington Relates to Anita Hill's Struggle: Forfeiting Privacy 'Is Not Something I Relish,' Says the Confirmation Star

 

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As Kerry Washington prepare to take on the role of Anita Hill, she quickly zeroed in on the trait that united her and her Confirmation character – a desire for privacy.

Washington will portray the real-life attorney and academic who put forth allegations of sexual harassment against future Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during his 1991 confirmation hearings, ultimately both captivating and polarizing the country, as well as opening a heated national dialogue about inappropriate sexual behavior.

And at the HBO film's premiere on Thursday, the Scandal star told PEOPLE that Hill's bravery despite her reluctance to open her personal and professional life up to public scrutiny stands at the emotional heart of the biopic.

"I think the film is a lot about courage, being up against forces that feel more powerful than you," said Washington, 39. "It was one of the things that really drew me to the project and to the role because I feel like on Scandal I play somebody who's always the most powerful person in the room, and I thought, 'What about playing somebody who's on the other side of the spectrum when it comes to DC politics?' "

 

 

Indeed, the actress and Hill – who herself attended the premiere at the Paramount Pictures studio lot and received a long, warm round of applause before the screening – discovered they both prefer to keep their personal live private.

"One of the things we bonded on initially was the fact that … neither one of us desired to live a life in the public eye," said Washington. "Privacy is really important to the both of us. But because of the circumstances of our lives, our private lives have become public. And that's not something that I relish. It's definitely not something that she does."

In Hill's case, says Washington, her decision to sacrifice that privacy to convey information she believed was in the public interest was a defining moment in modern American politics.

"What this film is about is the power of participation," she said. "We are so lucky in America to live in a representational democracy where our representatives' job is to represent us. But they don't get to do that if we don't show up, if we don't have our voice, if we don't vote. And I think that's a lot of what the film is about. It's about each person understanding their power to participate."

Washington's costar Wendell Pierce, who plays Thomas, said that, even though he has many predictable differences from Thomas, he also found some common ground.

"We are polar opposites when it comes to politics," says Pierce, 49. "What really amazed me was how much we had in common: two black families from the South, five generations of slavery and farmers and a love of family, and a premium on education. So what the discovery and epiphany for me was not how little we had in common, but was how much we had in common. I look forward to meeting the man."

 

Pierce had high praise for Washington both as leading lady and as the film's producer. "Kerry the producer gave you everything you needed to do a historical character – footage, research, having the tools there," he said. "As an actor, we didn't have anything that we did together, except I watched her testimony right before I stepped in and did my testimony – and that was the thing that just was fuel to the fire."

He continued, "To watch her do that, before I met anyone in the cast, I sat down at the table and defended myself, had to vigorously defend myself because she had done such a good job of accusing me of all those awful things."

Confirmation premieres April 16 on HBO.

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