List of Scandal characters
Scandal is an American political thriller series created by Shonda Rhimes for ABC. The show features an ensemble cast of regular characters, with 8 main characters in its first season. Since the first season, two characters have left the show or have been written out, and several new main characters have been written in or upgraded in the series. Following is a list of characters who have appeared over the various seasons since the show's premiere.Main characters
;Cast notesOlivia Pope
Olivia Carolyn Pope, portrayed by Kerry Washington, is a former White House Communications Director who is widely regarded as the best "fixer" in Washington. Olivia worked on the presidential campaign of then-Governor Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, with whom she began an affair. After Fitz became president, and named Olivia Director of Communications, they continued the affair. Although she still had feelings for him, Olivia knew that it would be best to resign from her position and as a result, she started "Pope & Associates", a crisis management company. Throughout season one, Olivia demonstrates that she is very dedicated to her work and to the people she helps and that she's surrounded by staff who are very loyal to her due to her saving each of them a problem in their past. At the beginning of season two, it is revealed that Olivia had something to do with Quinn Perkins's past and that she made a call that eventually got Quinn's case thrown out of court, saving her from the death penalty. Olivia is shown to have a contentious relationship with Mellie, the First Lady; the two women cannot stand each other but tolerate each other for the sake of the presidency. Olivia's father, Eli Pope, was the leader of a secret government organization titled B613. At the beginning of season five, it is leaked to the public that Mellie was thrown out of the White House and Olivia is in fact Fitz' mistress. She eventually makes a deal with her father and Mellie to keep the Senate from impeaching Fitz. However, she leaves Fitz by the end of the fall finale and moves on. She's currently running Mellie's bid for president. At the end of season 7, she and Fitz come back together.Stephen Finch
Stephen Finch, portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick, is a litigator who worked with Olivia and is one of her good friends. He is Scottish-born and became a U.S. citizen in 1995 shortly after graduating first in his class from Yale Law School. He was a top litigator for a firm called Chase and Howard but suffered a nervous breakdown in the middle of defending a client in a class action lawsuit against Bromquest, a chemical manufacturer that poisoned children in West Virginia. He spent two months recovering in a facility in Florida before quitting the firm and then began working with Olivia. He is shown to be a womanizer, even though he gets engaged to his girlfriend, Georgia, in the first season. By the second season, he left the firm and moved to Boston, "married Georgia and is living a normal life". In the fourth season, he is revealed to be living in St. Petersburg and working for the Russian oligarchy.Harrison Wright
Harrison Wright, portrayed by Columbus Short, was a litigator who worked with Olivia. He was bright and loyal to her. He worked in Takoma Park before he started working for Adnan Salif, making himself wealthy. When Salif went down for insider trading, Harrison received only a sentence of six months in jail because Olivia defended him pro bono. Harrison had a brotherly relationship with Quinn and he looked out for her. He calls Olivia's team "gladiators in suits". In the season two premiere, he is working on Quinn's case and although he knows it will be hard to win, he believes in her innocence. He is shocked when the judge rules in their favor and the case is dismissed. He becomes closer to Quinn and the two become good friends, having drinks together in the office. He was murdered by B613 in the season three finale after working out that it was responsible for the murder of President Grant's son, Jerry, to ensure his re-election and the reactivation of B613.Abby Whelan
Abby Whelan, portrayed by Darby Stanchfield, is an ambitious woman who worked as an investigator in Olivia's firm and currently serves as the White House Press Secretary. Abby was married to Charles Putney, the youngest son of former Virginia governor James Putney. She left him when he beat her in a drunken rage. Olivia got a tire iron and broke Charles's kneecap. She also helped Abby get the best divorce attorney in the state to help her get out of her marriage. Abby is extremely loyal to Olivia because she helped her get her life back together, but she gets angry with her when she doesn't act like the Olivia who helps people. In the season two premiere, she helps Olivia with Quinn's case, even though she believes that she is guilty. Abby was sleeping with AUSA David Rosen after she found his wall with pictures of Quinn and Olivia all over it when she broke into his house. However, after Olivia found out about their relationship, she asked Harrison to end it. Harrison bribed Rosen's ex-girlfriend to say he beat her up to force Abby to break up with him.Quinn Perkins
Quinn Perkins, portrayed by Katie Lowes, works with Olivia. She is revealed in the season two premiere to be Lindsay, on trial for murdering her ex-boyfriend and six other people. She had called her boyfriend, threatening him after she found out that he cheated on her. A mysterious package, which turns out to be a bomb, shows up at his workplace, killing him and six other people. It is revealed that Quinn ran away to a hotel room, frightened by what happened and that someone broke in and injected her with a sedative; she woke up in Washington, D.C., with a new identity. She is acquitted of all charges after Olivia makes a phone call. Olivia and Huck have something to do with her past, because Huck is shown in front of Quinn's hotel, then getting into Olivia's car and driving away. Quinn is extremely caring and has a brotherly relationship with Harrison Wright. She was dating reporter Gideon Wallace who was murdered by Billy Chambers. In season two, Quinn accepts Huck as her espionage and technology mentor, ultimately leading her down the path of embracing her dark side. In season six, she becomes engaged to fellow B613 agent, Charlie.Huck Finn
Huck Finn, portrayed by Guillermo Díaz, works as a tech guy in Olivia's firm. He is extremely loyal to her, willing to do anything she asks of him. Olivia found the homeless Huck while she was working on the Grant campaign. She took a shine to him and brought him coffee every day. Prior to knowing Olivia, and after serving in the Marines, Huck was blackmailed into joining a top secret CIA subdivision called B613, where he was trained to torture and murder American "traitors". He discovered he actually took pleasure in hurting people, but was conflicted and tried to avoid the torturing. Olivia, knowing his history, asked him to use what he knew, but only in desperate situations. When she asked him to find Amanda Tanner's body, to return to her father, Huck tortured the man who originally trained him, until he revealed the whereabouts of the body. In the season two premiere, it is revealed that it was Huck and Olivia who left the new identity for Quinn. Huck is known to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings; though he is not an alcoholic, he discusses "drinking whiskey" as a euphemism for his past as a torturer. In season two, Huck tutored Quinn in espionage and technology, but much to his chagrin he awakened something dark within her.Cyrus Beene
Cyrus Rutherford Beene, portrayed by Jeff Perry, is the White House Chief of Staff. He is a quiet man but is extremely ambitious, calculating, and extremely loyal to the president, even willing to kill to protect him. He was Olivia Pope's mentor and is her good friend. Cyrus was Fitz's campaign manager during his gubernatorial campaigns and his first presidential run, and brought Olivia on after they lost Iowa in the presidential primaries. He is shocked when he learns about the affair between Olivia and Fitz. He is extremely upset when he learns about Amanda Tanner and that Olivia is representing her and he goes as far as to convince the president to allow him to "wage war" with Olivia. It is revealed that he contracted Charlie as a freelance assassin to kill Amanda Tanner so she would not publicly come forward with her pregnancy. When Cyrus tells Olivia that the president is giving up the White House for her, he tells her some men can't be normal, changing her mind and helping her get Fitz and Mellie back together. Cyrus is gay and married to James Novak, a political journalist. Cyrus and Olivia are on good terms toward the end of season one, working together to save Fitz's presidency, although Olivia makes it clear that she knows what Cyrus is capable of when the president "lets him off his leash". Throughout season two, Cyrus is struggling with keeping Defiance from coming to light, helping Fitz with his decision-making and keeping his husband James from finding out the truth. He even adopts a baby girl for James, knowing that it is what he wants for their relationship. When Cyrus believes Hollis was responsible for Fitz's attempted assassination, he hires his own assassin to "end the problem", showing that he is willing to go to great lengths to protect everything Defiance worked for. He even goes as far as to nearly kill James for being David's witness to their conspiracy, but calls it off at the last minute. Ten months after Verna's funeral, he is shut out by Fitz for his involvement in the rigging, no longer able to give advice or influence the president's decisions. Eventually he begins to regain the President's trust, and by the early-middle part of season three the president has stopped shutting him out, and they are more or less back on decent terms with each other, but he is no longer trusted by the President unconditionally, and all of his advice is scrutinized closely. Beene runs the presidential campaign for Francisco Vargas, later becomes his running mate, and is a suspect when Vargas is assassinated.