The Cast Of Scandal What They Looked Like In The First Episode vs. Now

Okay, at this point, whatever Shonda Rhimes touches basically turns to gold - I mean, it's rare enough to have one successful television show under your belt, but three, all created by you? That's some straight up magic on her end.

After the success of Grey's Anatomy, Rhimes decided to venture into an entirely different world - the White House - with her new drama, Scandal. It was full of compelling characters, political intrigue, and more twists than we ever could have imagined. Seriously - if you somehow haven't had the chance to watch it, you need to binge-watch the entire series immediately. The show debuted back in 2012, and for years, we've cheered for Olivia Pope and her associates, we've sat on the edge of our seats as all the intrigue unraveled, we've rooted for Mellie even while rooting for Olivia at the same time. And now, it's finally coming to an end - while Shonda Rhimes likely could have stretched the show for several more seasons, she's decided to bring it all to an end.

In honor of the finale of the juicy drama, here's a peek back at what the cast looked like back when the show was just starting and what they look like now. It's been quite a ride.

15 Kerry Washington, Who Played The Amazing Gladiator Herself, Olivia Pope

One thing is for sure - without Kerry Washington, there would be no Olivia Pope, and without Olivia Pope, there would be no Scandal. The role was a massive undertaking and she managed to play it flawlessly. We all wanted to have closets stuffed with chic neutrals, and we all wanted to drink expensive red wine and have popcorn for dinner. And, of course, we all wanted to be amazing gladiators who could tackle any obstacle in our way. Before she snagged the role of Olivia Pope, Kerry Washington had several roles under her belt, including in the film Ray and the HBO film Confirmation. Her schedule has been pretty packed during her years filming Scandal, but now that she has a bit more time, we can't wait to see what complex characters she tackles next.

14 Katie Lowes, Who Played The Mysterious Quinn Perkins

As soon as Katie Lowes appeared in the first episode of the show, fans around the world wondered - who on earth was this amazing actress, and why hadn't we heard of her before? Before Scandal, she was an aspiring actress with several smaller roles in television shows and roles in a few direct-to-tv movies under her belt. She did appear on two of Shonda Rhimes' projects as minor characters, Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy, and apparently, something about the young actress struck Shonda because she ended up giving her one of the main roles. Lowes proved she can tackle difficult material with ease, and her portrayal of Quinn Perkins over the seven seasons of the show has been insane - it's definitely not an easy character to play, and she did it beautifully.

13 Guillermo Diaz, Who Played The Complicated Huck

Every character on the show had their demons, but Huck was one of the most deeply damaged characters, and rightfully so. It was probably an incredibly tough role to tackle, but Guillermo Diaz took it on and made us all fall in love with the nuances he brought to the character. He started in the entertainment industry way back in the '90s, scoring roles in a few films playing everything from a drag queen in Stonewall to a laidback dude in Half Baked. He got his first big break in television playing a trafficker on the show Weeds, and soon after, snagged the role of Huck. We're pretty sure no other actor could have done quite as good a job with the character as he did - we're excited to see what roles he tackles next.

12 Bellamy Young, Who Played Everyone's Favourite First Lady, Mellie Grant

Okay, we feel like we're saying this about every actor and actress on the show, but it applies to Bellamy Young as well - Mellie Grant certainly wasn't an easy character to play. Given how intense the love story between Olivia Pope and Fitz was, she could have easily been the irritating wife standing in the way, a character that people hated. However, instead, she was a total powerhouse - from the storyline where she totally shut down after her son's death to the storyline where she became President herself, Mellie has gone through a lot, and Bellamy always brought so much talent to the role. In real life, Bellamy is an absolute sweetheart - she's been a vegan for 30 years now, supports animal shelters and organizations that raise funds for victims of domestic violence and more.

11 Tony Goldwyn, Who Played Mr. President Himself, Fitzgerald Grant

Tony Goldwyn has been in the entertainment industry since the mid-'80s, but we bet he never thought he'd have the opportunity to play the President of the United States - I mean, that's a pretty major role to take on! In real life, he's not quite as scandalous as his on-screen counterpart - he's been married to his wife, production designer Jane Michelle Musky, for over 30 years, and seems a total family man. He had plenty of credits under his belt already, but we have a feeling he'll be offered a lot of major roles now that Scandal is over. I mean, if you can play the President of the United States, what kind of character can't you tackle? We can't wait to see what he's got up his sleeve next.

10 Darby Stanchfield, Who Played The Whip Smart Abby Whelan

Television fans might recognize Darby Stanchfield from her roles as April Green in Jericho or Helen Bishop in Mad Men, but there's no doubt that she's become a household name now thanks to Scandal. The Alaska-born beauty appeared in a few movies while she was filming Scandal, and even flexed her creative muscles by directing six episodes of a web series entitled Gladiator Wanted that focused on her fellow Scandal characters, but we have a feeling you haven't seen all she can do quite yet. She has plenty of experience in both film and television, so it all depends what she wants to do - perhaps she'll find another gig as a series regular, perhaps she'll star in a string of independent films, who knows! We can't wait to find out.

9 Joshua Malina, Who Played Attorney David Rosen

Fun fact - did you know that Joshua Malina actually made his acting debut on Broadway, in the production of A Few Good Men? Talk about launching yourself into the industry! He's also a huge poker fan in real life and is the co-creator and producer of the show Celebrity Poker Showdown. And, as if that weren't enough, he's even ventured into the podcasting world as the co-host of The West Wing Weekly, where he joins forces with Hrishikesh Hirway to dissect episodes of the popular political drama The West Wing. It seems he hasn't gotten enough of political drama during his time on Scandal! Given that he played character Will Bailey on The West Wing for 71 episodes, he definitely has an insider perspective that probably makes for interesting podcast content.

8 Jeff Perry, Who Played White House Regular Cyrus Beene

While every actor and actress has a shot at snagging a role on her shows, there's no doubt that Shonda Rhimes has proven she's not afraid to work with the same talent multiple times if she thinks they fit a character - that's certainly what happened with Jeff Perry. Perry got his start in the theatre world as one of the co-founders of Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He worked with them for about two decades before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his other dreams and quickly began snagging roles on a variety of shows. He played Meredith Grey's father on Grey's Anatomy, where Shonda Rhimes fell in love with his talent - so when it came to casting the fascinating Cyrus Beene, he managed to impress her yet again and got the role.

7 Scott Foley, Who Played Army Vet Jake Ballard

Scott Foley has appeared in a few movies over the years, but make no mistake - television has always been his thing. Viewers first fell in love with him back in the '90s/early '00s when he played Noel Crane on Felicity. Then, he snagged another leading role on the action show The Unit, playing a military sergeant (and his time on that show may very well have given him some good insight to play the role of Jake Ballard later on). He met Shonda Rhimes when he was cast as Henry Burton on Grey's Anatomy, a character who only appeared for 15 total episodes but definitely earned a lot of fans. His diverse experience definitely helped him out when it came time to play the navy admiral and Command of secret group B613 on Scandal.

6 Joe Morton, Who Played The Terrifying Eli/Rowan Pope

When you get a character as strong and interesting as Olivia Pope, many people wonder about her parents - and luckily, viewers got to learn a whole lot about Papa Pope over the course of the show. Morton took on the role of the ruthless and often terrifying leader of CIA division B613, and he played it flawlessly. In reality, obviously, he's not nearly as terrifying - although he definitely has a lot of experience under his belt. He's been acting since the '70s, consistently scoring gigs in both film and television. It's not easy to have a career in the fickle entertainment industry that lasts that long, so he's obviously got some major acting chops. He's played all kinds of characters, but after playing Rowan Pope so perfectly, we have a feeling casting agents would give him just about any role he wanted.

5 George Newbern, Who Played The Complicated Charlie

When the viewers first met George Newbern's character Charlie, they took him for a total psychopath - and he kind of was. As the show progressed, though, we got glimpses into a more complex character - he did some majorly ruthless things, but he also cared for the people he loved. And, eventually, he and Quinn ended up falling for one another, and have a baby together. That's quite the character arc to take on! Before he got the role of Charlie, Newbern did a lot of voice acting, voicing Superman in a lot of DC Comics projects as well as offering his voice to several video games. We're not sure whether he'll choose to pursue film projects, television projects, or voice work in the years to come - talk about a multi-talented actor!

4 Cornelius Smith Jr., Who Played Marcus Walker

Marcus Walker was a fascinating character - we didn't get to see too much of him, and he didn't come along until a bit later in the show, but he's definitely memorable. The civil rights activist and former client of Olivia Pope and Associates turned employee at the firm turned employee for The Fitzgerald Grant Institute definitely played a major role in the show. In real life, Cornelius Smith Jr. is best known for playing the character Frankie Hubbard on the soap All My Children for several years, a role he snagged basically his first year in the entertainment industry. We're not sure whether he'll return to the soap opera world or if he's gotten the drama bug and plans to pursue regular television projects instead, but either way, he'll bring a lot to the table.

3 Portia de Rossi, Who Played Political Powerhouse Elizabeth North

Portia de Rossi (her professional name - in real life, she's changed her name to Porta DeGeneres to honor her union with talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres) is a television staple at this point. She won fans all over the world playing Nelle Porter on the show Ally McBeal, then shortly after showed off her comedic chops on Arrested Development for several seasons. Given her previous experience, we can see why tackling a political drama would be a fun change of pace - and she definitely brought a lot of fire to the character of Elizabeth North. That is, until she was unfortunately killed. Even though she wasn't on Scandal for quite as long as some of the other cast members, she definitely contributed to the show in a major way.

2 Kate Burton, Who Played Talk Show Host/Politician Sally Langston

Given that her father is the legendary actor Richard Burton, it's no surprise that Kate Burton decided to pursue a career in the entertainment industry - it's in her blood! Fans of Shonda Rhimes' shows will likely recognize her from Grey's Anatomy, where she played the role of the fearless Ellis Grey. When it came time to cast the role of Sally Langston, a senator turned Vice President of the United States turned talk show host on the show, Rhimes returned to a known talent - Kate Burton. She appeared in 40 episodes overall over the course of the show and definitely had her fair share of dramatic storylines. We're beginning to think that Kate Burton could literally play any character on earth - look out, Meryl Streep! There's a new queen in Hollywood.

1 Columbus Short, Who Played Harrison Wright

Harrison Wright was one of the gladiator's on Olivia Pope's team in the first three seasons, which is why it was so surprising when he decided not to return for season four. I mean, it seemed like a prime gig - why would you want to give that up? Later, though, he revealed the true reason behind his departure from Scandal on Access Hollywood Live, admitting that he struggled with substance abuse issues and just didn't feel he could continue with the show. He had a few struggles with the law before, after a bar fight, and apparently, according to TMZ, he's facing jail time now due to domestic violence charges. Perhaps it was a good thing he ended up leaving the show when he did - you definitely don't want that kind of personal scandal leaving a mark on the show.

References: imdb.com, tmz.com