It’s a happy 31st birthday to Kerry Washington, who is one of the most thoughtful and articulate young actress interviews out there.

Her work in the Fantastic Four flicks hasn’t necessarily been showcase-type material (check out The Last King of Scotland, or go rent her film debut, the heartbreaking Our Song, if you want to see her at her best), but Washington has showed plenty of range over the past several years, from Ray, The Dead Girl and Chris Rock’s I Think I Love My Wife to a certain gimmicky summer comedy whose name shall not be mentioned. I’ve had the pleasant fortune of talking to her four times, both in person and over the phone, and like Jodie Foster — among a relatively small handful of other actors — within three to five minutes of meeting her you just immediately know Washington could have been successful at any other number of things other than acting. She’s plugged into the world around her, the real world, and also has a wicked sense of humor. If the right indie writer-director took her as his muse, a fabulous project could easily result.