An interview with Isaiah Washington for The 100

24 June 2014

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What attracted you to this role in The 100?

I had the script for The 100 for about three weeks, but I refused to read it. My manager and my wife kept telling me I needed to read it, but I said, “No, I’m not interested in television. No way.” I was so in love with the independent films I’ve been working on and I didn’t want to interrupt this good track record in film. I’ve already been on a TV show that pushed the envelope, Grey’s Anatomy. Grey’s was very diverse and transformative – and it changed television as we knew it. It was the pinnacle of storytelling and the show still resonates around the world, so I didn’t need to prove anything else. In my eyes, it couldn’t get any better than that… until I read this script. My manager kept pushing and pushing, but I kept saying, “No. It can’t get any better than what I’ve already done. It’s impossible.” I was wrong. As soon as I read the script for The 100, I told my manager I was wrong. And then I told my wife I was wrong. I immediately knew I wanted to be part of this exciting project.

What attracted you to the script?

I was extremely excited about the potential of the vision of [executive producer] Jason Rothenberg. I loved the soul of Jason’s script. I’m a glutton for good. And it’s good, man. Jason is very smart and I’m on this journey because I’m most interested to see how humanity and the world respond to his voice. If I’m right, this show will be bigger than anything I’ve ever worked on before.

How did you get involved with the show?

I auditioned for it. They said I didn’t have to audition, but I wanted them to hear what they made me feel with the script. I thought that was important. If you wrote it, I want you to hear what you’re making me feel. If I do my job and I make the audience feel what the writer wants them to feel then I’ll be happy.

How would you describe the plot of the show?

When a nuclear holocaust destroys the world, it takes 100 years for Earth to heal itself. Cut to 97 years [later] and my character’s generation has never set foot on Earth. My character has a grandfather that was born on this Ark in space. That is their way of life, but they are coming to a problem where they need more resources. They are about to exhaust all of the resources on the ship, so my character comes up with an idea to send juvenile criminals to Earth to see if it’s habitable. These criminals use too much oxygen and eat too much food on the Ark, so we decide to send them down to Earth to see if we can return to the planet.

How would you describe your character in the show?

I play Chancellor Jaha in The 100. Chancellor Jaha is the leader of the last surviving members of the human race. I make all of the tough decisions on this Ark in space, rather like President Obama.

What do you think of Chancellor Jaha? And what challenges do you face in playing him?

Chancellor Jaha is a father, a leader, and a creator during this very confused time. Something happens to my character at the very beginning of the first episode and he becomes vulnerable. Something horrible happens - he gets shot and we need to find out why. The challenge for me is, ‘What is my face going to look like? What is my body doing, knowing that out of 4000 people on this ship, one of them tried to kill me? Or several? Or 4000?’ He already knows that Henry Ian Cusick’s character [Kane] wants to be the Chancellor. Did he do it? Spiritually speaking, it’s not time for Chancellor Jaha to go. There’s still more for my character to do. He has to receive all of this information and still make the best decisions amongst this team of rivals to move humankind forward.

What themes are going to be tackled on the show?

You’re going to see all walks of life because it’s a very diversified show, and I’m very into that. We have strong women: Paige Turco, Eliza Taylor and Marie Avgeropoulos. We have a demographic from 13 to 85. It’s going to be dark. It’s going to be heavy. You have something for everyone here. I like to be involved with shows that are controversial, and shake up the fabric of systems. I couldn’t be more excited about it. I love great storytelling. I love good work and great actors. In my opinion, we have one of the most beautiful casts on television, and more importantly, they are beautiful human beings.

ENDS.