Shondaland is a big place.
In addition to Scandal, Shonda Rhimes' and Betsy Beers' production company produces rookie hit How to Get Away With Murder and veteran medical drama Grey's Anatomy while developing projects that could be tomorrow's next big thing.
The Hollywood Reporter took a page out of Trading Places and quizzed the cast of ABC's political thriller to find out where in Shondaland they'd like to swap jobs for a day.
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Kerry Washington (Olivia)
I really admire all of the hyphenates in our world — Kevin McKidd, Tony Goldwyn, Tom Verica, Chandra Wilson — the folks that are able to wear more than one hat. They're my favorites — and the fact that we have so many hyphenates in our family is a testament that Shonda does not put people in a box; she's not interested in limiting people but allowing people to be all of who they are.
Tony Goldwyn (Fitz)
[Scandal supervising director and How to Get Away With Murder co-star] Tom Verica because I want to work with Viola Davis! That'd be awesome.
See more The Couples of Shondaland: 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Private Practice,' 'Scandal'
Bellamy Young (Mellie)
I want to be Tom Verica. You get to do a little bit of everything. He seems like the shiniest coin right now!
Scott Foley (Jake)
Swapping places with [Scandal line producer] Merri Howard would be a dream. Not for me necessarily, but I think it would give her a chance to take a nap in my trailer! (Laughs.)
Darby Stanchfield (Abby)
Betsy Beers. She's the woman behind the woman. She's the mastermind of everything and has the most wicked sense of humor. That's where the real stuff happens. She discovered Scandal. Everything happens behind those closed doors. She's this quiet leader who does it so effortlessly. I know she's like an animal underneath it all. I really admire her. It's half development and half production — she does it all.
Jeff Perry (Cyrus)
We could make Sandra Oh's Cristina Yang come back for a little arc and be gay and I'd be Ellen Pompeo's old bestie. That would be fun!
See more A Day in the Life of Shondaland MVP Tom Verica
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Katie Lowes (Quinn)
I'd want to trade places with the guy who plays Doucheface, Matt McGorry, on How to Get Away With Murder. Every single choice he makes absolutely kills me. He's so freaking hilarious and fun.
Guillermo Diaz (Huck)
Tom Verica, because he's a director for us and acting opposite Viola Davis. Come on, that's a pretty great life.
Josh Malina (David)
I'd switch with Shonda and during that day, I would drain her bank accounts and funnel it all over to me because I'm going to go back to being me the next day (laughing). Once I've drained her money, I might not even do the show anymore. I'm not that dedicated to the craft of acting and once I had Shonda-level money…for instance, I don't know why Shonda still comes to work! She has that money already! This is also an insight into, perhaps, why I will never achieve the things that Shonda or very accomplished people have. Whenever I look at a billionaire, I think, "That guy is going to work. What's wrong with them?!"
Read more Who Makes the Worst Decisions on 'Scandal'?
Joe Morton (Rowan)
I haven't seen enough of How to Get Away With Murder to include that in the answer but the obvious one is to play Viola's part, but I'd play Tom's part and play her husband. On Scandal, I'd love to play Fitz for a day. I'm just curious to see what that might be like.
Portia De Rossi (Elizabeth)
That's easy: Shonda Rhimes. It's a big job but if I could have her brain and her ability for great storytelling and her calm attitude toward all of this stuff that has been created by her that's just crazy, I'd want to be in her shoes. Basically I want to be her, that's what I'm saying.
Scandal and the rest of the TGIT lineup return Jan. 29 on ABC.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
