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Fun with ‘Scandal’ star Bellamy Young

Bellamy Young worked late one Friday in October, delaying our phone interview a bit but apologizing when we did connect. It didn’t matter. Not only is she the first lady, she’s also a talker—as am I. We talked and talked and she graciously answered even these random questions about her and her character, first lady Mellie Grant.

Would Mellie ever hire Olivia Pope [Kerry Washington]?
Yes, definitely. She’s the best at her game.

Question for you, not Mellie: Stand by your man or dump him?
Ewww. Oh, gosh. I am historically stand by your man, but I hope I wouldn’t stand by him to my own demolishing, you know? I hope there’s a line. I would say balance, there must be balance.

Will Olivia, Fitz and Mellie ever have a threesome?
Ha, ha. That’s for Shonda to decide.

We finally saw the Grants’ baby again in the Oct. 26 episode. What were you feeding him?
We have the cutest little twin girls who play Teddy. We give them anything that they would eat. Like that was a very hard day on set. They were unhappy, the twins, that day. We, of course, had timed out to film at their nap time so bless their hearts. They were just miserable. So I can’t believe we used the take. I can’t believe we had a take where the baby wasn’t crying. But we were feeding them yogurt and like mushy apples and like oatmeal.

I was going to ask how many bottles of hairspray it takes to get your hair like that, but I think those are all wigs, right?
Yes, they’re wigs. We got a wig this season. The first season was me and then second season was me with a little bit of like, you know, pieces that we could clip in. And then this year we just got me a wig. And it’s just heaven. I mean that wig is amazing. We didn’t just get a wig. We got a wig and then she sewed two full heads of extension hair into it. That wig, I’m trying to get her on the call sheet. She’s important. She’s an important part of this operation.

The promo photos they did where you’re all standing in the rain? It looks like Mellie’s trying to cleanse herself a little bit there. Is that what you were thinking?
I was thinking, like, “Bring it. I’ve been through so much a little rain can’t hurt me.”

What are you currently reading?
I just got David Rakoff’s new one, which that title is too hard for me to say. [It’s “Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish.”] … It looks sort of like a hardcover comic book but it’s like poetry inside. That and I have the Michio Kaku Einstein biography going.

What are you watching?
Last night after our beautiful show I had to get to the finale of “Project Runway” because I was very, very invested this year.

Were you happy with the result?
I was very happy. I was surprisingly torn … It was Dom and I’m really like over the moon that she won. But then the runway show was amazing. They were all really good. I was like wow. I am surprised to feel as torn as I do. But, yeah, it turned out right.

And I’ve been watching a lot of home shows because I moved and I’m trying to get ideas. Of course I’m “Madmen” and “Girls” and “New Girl” if I want to laugh. There’s just nothing as funny to me right now as “New Girl.” Those guys are all so good at their jobs.

What are you listening to?
I just got that new Civil Wars album. Oh it’s so beeeautiful. That’s sort of on a loop.

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