Joshua Malina has, by his own admission, "been in things that have bombed, things that did well and everything in-between". But the actor insists he has never been a part of any project quite like Scandal.
Malina has played David Rosen on the global hit drama since 2012 and spoke to Digital Spy about the passionate fan response, jaw-dropping twists and the future of the Shonda Rhimes series.
Warning: This interview contains US-pace spoilers that some readers may prefer to avoid.
David started out on Scandal as the guy who 'wears the white hat' - does that still hold true?
"That is a fair question - clearly 'white' is off the table. But I think relative to everyone else... while he has dabbled in extortion and career advancement based on same, he hasn't killed anyone, he hasn't contracted to kill anyone and in the Scandal universe, that gives him as close to a 'white hat' as one can possess!
"But, yes, clearly he is not the 'I am the law, the law is me' guy that he was early on. He's learned that to play the game effectively, his morals have to be corrupted to a certain extent."
Fans of the show are especially passionate - how's it been being at the centre of that?
"I love it - I've been kicking around for more than 25 years, so I've been in things that have bombed, things that did well and everything in-between, but I've never been on anything like Scandal - that garners the audience reaction that it does - so I thoroughly enjoy it.
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"I run into people all the time - and people face-to-face, including me, tend to be nice. Twitter gives you that extra removal where you can start slinging s**t at each other (laughs), but on the street, it's usually 'I love the show!' and a quick selfie.
"On Twitter, people will say, 'I'm tired of David Rosen's ugly ass - when is he going to die?!' and I enjoy engaging on both levels. I guess as a kid I was frequently told, 'Don't drop down to their level' but as an adult, I enjoy dropping down to anybody's level!
"I have a very thick skin, altogether - surprisingly many actors are rather fragile, but I get that of the 10 million people watching an episode, probably 3 million hate me and I'm comfortable with that... as long as they keep watching!"
Scandal is known for delivering huge surprises and recently brought back Stephen Finch (Henry Ian Cusick) - is there any other character you think is due a comeback?
"I guess the biggest twist of all possible twists would be to see Columbus Short's Harrison coming back as apparently he's been killed - I put nothing past Shonda.
"By the way, I'm not trying to start a rumour that this is in the works - I don't think she will resurrect him from the dead, but that would be interesting!
"There was a time when I would try and predict what might happen on the show and I gave it up long ago because I was 100% of the time incorrect, which I think is part of the appeal of the show - that Shonda is always at least one step ahead.
"So I wouldn't put it past her - bringing someone back that we believe to be dead... but who knows? I was disappointed that I didn't get to work with Henry Ian Cusick, because I really miss him. I was delighted he was back, but I would've liked to have worked with him."
Maybe Stephen could resurface again further down the line?
"I hope so - I would be delighted."
You have a reputation as a prankster on-set - are pranks harder to pull off in a fourth season? Are your cast-mates getting wise to your tricks?
"Yes, absolutely - the reason they call a con-man 'a con-man' is because in order to pull off whatever scam he's up to, he has to instil confidence in the person or people he's trying to dupe...
"So constantly attacking and harassing the same group of people... it gets harder and harder to gain their confidence and I think I'm at a critical point where most of the cast won't even give me the time of day... or engage on any level that might lead to me being able to pull a prank on them.
"I have now lost the trust of everybody on the show - so I'm now playing long ball. I have plans for regaining trust and I think my greatest ally will be the passage of time - but it's going to be a while before I can do anything too significant!"
In your time on Scandal, we've seen you pop up on Law & Order: SVU and Extant - how easy is it to find time for that other work?
"It's difficult - even though I as one character in a larger ensemble actually have a fair amount of time off, you'll never hear me complaining about being worked too hard.
"But our schedule is very erratic - so during the season, it is difficult indeed to do anything else and I've had a couple of interesting offers that I haven't been able to take - although again, you won't hear me complaining about that either!
"If Scandal were to run for the rest of my career and prevent me from doing anything else, I would sign that contract this moment. But we finish end of April and pick up again end of July generally so that gives me three months to hop onto any other set that will have me, so I enjoy that - it's fun to try to fit in a little other work."
Talking of 'signing that contract'… could ever imagine Scandal running as long as some of Shonda's other shows - say, matching Grey's Anatomy and its 11 seasons?
"I can certainly imagine it - and I can tell you what I'll be earning in that 11th season... I spend a lot of time positively visualising such an occurrence!
"That said, I feel like they are two different creatures - Grey's and Scandal - so I fear that perhaps there is a limit to Scandal, whereas I think Grey's Anatomy will be playing for generations to come!
"So I would say I can imagine it [running for a long time] but that being said, Shonda has occasionally opined publicly that she knows where and when Scandal is going to end. I have privately lobbied her to let me know... so I can let my kids know what their options are for college! But she tends to play it close to the vest.
"I'm hopeful that it'll play on, but who knows? I'm in a profession where if you're planning more than six months ahead, you're doing it wrong!"
Joshua Malina stars in Scandal, airing Thursday nights - 9/8c on ABC and 10pm on Sky Living.
