Tony Goldwyn on Connection to Shonda Rhimes That Led to His “Scandal” Casting: Things 'Come Around' (Exclusive)

Goldwyn says he first met Rhimes while directing an episode of 'Grey's Anatomy,' years before he was cast as President Fitzgerald Grant III

Tony Goldwyn is reflecting on how personal connections have come "full circle" throughout his career in film and television.

The actor is perhaps best known for portraying President Fitzgerald Grant III in the drama Scandal from 2012 to 2018. His casting never would have happened, though, if it weren't for a years-earlier gig he had with series creator Shonda Rhimes, 54.

"I had met Shonda several years before, when I directed one of the first episodes of Grey's Anatomy and worked for her for a couple of years on that, and then I didn't see her for eight years and suddenly she thought, 'Wow, Tony'd be an interesting choice for Fitz.' And 'Tony, you want to play the president on my new show?' " says Goldwyn, 63. "Wow. 'Okay, sure. Why not?' So it's funny how things come around."

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Goldwyn directed the third episode of Grey's Anatomy Season 1 in 2005, and returned to direct the 24th episode of Season 2.

The actor says, "It's funny the way life works. In my now-pretty-long career, I've learned to sort of just trust the flow of the way things happen."

Related: 'Scandal' Reunion! Find Out Why the Stars of the D.C. Soap's Power Trio Came Back Together

The way things happen has led Goldwyn to his latest role: as the new district attorney on the long-running crime drama Law & Order. The series is one Goldwyn also previously directed for.

"I did not expect this to happen," he admits of his new gig, adding, "But yeah, it's just so nice, the circularity of things . . . and the way things come back in the same way as when I did Scandal."

Law & Order airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

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