Kerry Washington is taking a trip down memory lane — raw eggs and all.
During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the UnPrisoned actress opened up about her early acting days. She joked that she was “a very dramatic child,” but didn’t start getting paid for acting until she was about 12 or 13.
Kimmel was quick to remind her of her humble beginnings with a throwback video from one of her first acting gigs. In the clip, a young Kerry is seen trying to teach the Spanish word for egg, huevo, by cracking an egg on her forehead and eating it raw.
“Huevo means egg,” a younger Washington says, holding the egg up. She attempts to crack it on her head, finally succeeds, and then drops the egg straight into her mouth.
The live audience gasped, but Kerry couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s so terrible,” she admitted. “That’s how you know I was a broke college student who really needed money.”
When Kimmel asked how many takes it took, Kerry confessed, “Honestly, I think I blacked out it was so traumatic. I don’t really remember. But I had a spit bucket, so I didn’t have to swallow the egg.”
Kimmel was baffled. “Who thought cracking an egg on your head and eating it raw was a good idea? We could’ve just learned huevo by you holding up the egg,” he said.
But Kerry defended the bizarre moment. “Don’t you remember it now because of that shocking video?” she pointed out, adding with a smile, “Huevo.”
Kimmel then showed another clip from the same series, this time where Kerry taught viewers the Spanish word for cheese. “Queso is cheese,” she says in the video before taking a bite of cheese, which gives off an unmistakably crunchy sound. “Mmm, cheese.”
Back on the couch, Kerry couldn’t help but question the crunchy cheese. “Why the crunch? Why is the cheese crunchy?” she laughed. Then she joked, “You can see the seeds of brilliance in that performance. I made the cheese look delicious… and I’m sure it wasn’t.”
Kimmel responded, “Well, you would know. You’re the only one who crunched on that cheese.”
Kerry has reflected on this particular acting credit before. Last year, she even shared the same raw egg moment on TikTok for the “things I ate and survived” trend.
After her stint in food-related educational videos, Kerry went on to build a solid career in Hollywood throughout the ’90s and early ’00s with roles in films and TV shows like Save the Last Dance, She Hates Me, Boston Legal, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Her big break came with Scandal in 2012. In fact, just last year, she admitted she’s tried to leave acting multiple times, only to be drawn back in by exciting new projects.
“I’ve spent a lifetime trying to not be an actor,” she told W Magazine. “I’m always quitting this business, and then just when I decide I’m done, something extraordinary comes across my desk.”
