TV Politicians Meet Their Real-Life Counterparts

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The White House Correspondents' Dinner provides the worlds of entertainment and politics an opportunity to blend on a yearly basis. For most actors, it's merely an illustrious event to attend; for some, it's research for their on-screen roles.

As Nashville star Connie Britton highlighted to ET at the event, those in the acting world in Hollywood and those in the political sphere in Washington D.C. are enthralled with one another.


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"There's this real, genuine sense of admiration and wanting to connect and communicate [with each other]," Britton noted before the event.

That sense of admiration has produced many TV shows and films that take on a political backdrop. Most recently, drama series like Scandal, House of Cards, and even the comedy series Veep have employed Washington D.C. as their setting.

Saturday night's extravagant event, which was hosted at its usual location of the Washington Hilton, presented Tony Goldwyn, who plays a U.S. president on Scandal, an opportunity for some field research.


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"Everyone's so generous in this town. They're people that actually do this stuff for a living. [They'll say], 'Well, call me if you have any questions!'" said Goldwyn, who agreed that it was an apt venue for him to pick up a few tips from practicing politicians.

Goldwyn, whose character engages in an affair with Kerry Washington's character in the series, said that although he is an actor, he has always possessed an affinity for politics.

"I was already a political junkie," the Ghost actor said of his interest in politics prior to Scandal. "These are sort of rock stars to me. The people in this town who do what they do and are so smart and work with such grace under unbelievable pressure."


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Shonda Rhimes, creator of the buzz-rendering show now in its second season, added that she was eagerly anticipating having the president she created on the show and the actual U.S. president in the same room as one another.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who also plays a high-ranking Washington official on her comedy series Veep, said that she too would be very observant of the politicians at the Correspondents'' Dinner as research for her show.

"It's my second [White House Correspondents'] Dinner, but my first dinner when I came here, I was not playing the vice president, so tonight I got a lot of work to get done," the former Seinfeld actress said.


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Watch the video for more from celebrities, from Miss America to actress Olivia Munn, at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner.