Scandal's Joe Morton on the Hit Series' Final Season
The final eleven episodes of ABC's hit series "Scandal," kick off on Jan. 18, and one of the juiciest parts on the show has been played, for 6 of the past 7 seasons, by Joe Morton, aka Papa Eli Pope. The Emmy winner joins us now to tell us what to look out for as the series winds down, as well as his many other projects on the stage and screen.
Morton is currently appearing in DC Comics' Justice League, and also just finished a stage run playing the late comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory.
Morton obviously won't tell us what's in store for Scandal's series finale. Before he leaves, however, he delivers an intense Eli Pope-style monologue (that he just threw together in the car.)
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