Ahead of “Scandal” Season 5 Episode 2 tonight, here are five must-know facts about President Fitz actor Tony Goldwyn.
1. He played Neil Armstrong
You may know him now as the most powerful figure in Shonda Rhimes' "Scandal," but before he suited up for the role, he played another influential person in history. Goldwyn played Neil Armstrong in "From the Earth to the Moon," an HBO made-for-TV docudrama way back in 1998.
Interestingly, a year later, Kerry Washington's costar made his directorial debut and helmed "A Walk On The Moon," as per Tribute.ca. In the movie, he got to work with the real Neil Armstrong since the first man on the moon was the narrator. His first film as director was received well that Rotten Tomatoes even gave it a 72 percent rating, noting that it's "a wonderfully realized, nostalgic melodrama."
2. He was the voice behind Disney's "Tarzan"
Around the same time he played Armstrong, Goldwyn also had to work on Disney's "Tarzan" as he was the voice actor for the titular role. Oh My Disney even included Tony on its "You Probably Didn't Know This Character Was Voiced By..." feature, stating: "Before he was President Fitzgerald Grant III on Scandal, Tony Goldwyn voiced the King of the Jungle, Tarzan. We now want to see Fitz do the Tarzan yell."
Speaking of the animated film, Goldwyn was once quoted as saying, "Tarzan is a great role because the range pf the character is enormous. In bringing the character to life, my main concern was to make him real."
3. He comes from a family of entertainment industry personalities
"Scandal's" Tony Goldwyn is the son of actress Jennifer Howard - known for "Perry Mason," "To All a Goodnight," "House of Women" and "The Chapman Report" - and producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr., who worked on "The Preacher's Wife," "Mystic Pizza" and 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," among others. He is also the grandson of playwright Sidney Howard who has worked with his other grandfather, Samuel Goldwyn, on a total of eight films including "Arrowsmith," "Bulldog Drummond" and "The Greeks Had A Word For Them," as per IMDB.
Goldwyn's grandmothers are also actresses. On his mother side, his grandma is Clare Earnes and on his father's side, his grandma is Frances Howard. His brother John Goldwyn who was once the president of Paramount Studios. Finally, the "Scandal" actor is the uncle of Emily Goldwyn.
4. He is not expecting the reunion between his "Scandal" character and Washington's
While gladiators were really thrilled to see Olivia Pope rekindling her romance with President Fitz. Goldwyn had an interview with InStyle last week, and the 55-year-old actor opened up about what fans can expect from the show after the premiere episode last week.
"Yeah, it's been crazy this season so far, so people are in for a real treat. The reconnection between Fitz and Olivia in a way that we never have been before. The fact that [show creator Shonda Rhimes] really just continues to push our story lines in new directions. There's no repeating old patterns. In Season 5, that's not what I expected, so I'm really excited about that," Goldwyn was quoted as saying by the fashion site.
5. He has "weird" competitions with Scott Foley
Kerry Washington recently stopped by SiriusXM and did an interview with Entertainment Weekly editor Henry Goldblatt. In the interview the "Scandal" lead actress admitted that the intimate scenes are the most difficult ones to shoot. When asked what was the most difficult one to film, the actress revealed that it was the dream sequence involving her, Goldwyn and Foley, not only because they had to film it together but because Goldwyn and Foley had this off-cam competition.
"Those guys, they sort of compete from afar. Not for my attention but sort of like for, you know, the guy... who's the guy?" Washington said during the interview. "Scott's always complaining because Tony like doesn't work out and eats donuts and was like born with a six-pack. Scott's always complaining about that, and Tony's always complaining that Scott's younger... they have these weird competitions."
Catch more of Tony Goldwyn tonight by tuning in to watch "Scandal" Season 5 Episode 2. If you can't watch it on TV tonight, watch it online an hour after it airs through this free online stream link here.
