Most fans of Shonda Rhimes' Scandal will tell you that the illicit relationship between fixer Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and President of the United States Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) is one of the sexiest, most thrilling, and captivating pairings on television.

But fans of Mellie Grant, the president's better half on Scandal, might have a slightly different perspective: Olivia and Fitz, in their brazen displays of adultery, show a selfish disregard for everyone around them — particularly Mellie, who has, by necessity, tolerated her husband's infidelity for years. As played by Bellamy Young, Mellie is a scene-stealing force of nature whose Stepford wife smiles mask political ambition that dwarfs everything else in her life, including her capacity for personal happiness.

"With the pilot, [Rhimes] started in a pinhole, super extreme close-up of just Kerry and Tony, and they were in love, and their love was so perfect, and they're so clearly meant for each other, and my god, you're pulling for them," says Young, flashing a broad, sincere smile. "And then she slowly pulled back, and she gave you, Oh god, it's adultery. Oh, god, it's on the world stage. She just kept pulling back like it was a camera shot, and it's genius, because it makes you question your emotional allegiance. Like, Oh, I'm pulling for what?"

When investigating a character as complicated as Mellie, you become very aware of perspective.

Warm and overwhelmingly gracious, Young is very little like the character she portrays as she sits at a relatively empty Beachwood Canyon restaurant, not far from the fabled Hollywood sign. Her mannerisms are similarly inviting — she could easily take the stage at a press conference — but there's an authenticity to Young that Mellie could never quite manage. She goes out of her way to thank everyone at the establishment.

It's a tribute to Young's acting skills that she's so convincing in her role: While Mellie's Southern gentility comes naturally to the North Carolina native, Mellie's impressive wrath is not seemingly in Young's nature. And yet, over the course of the three years she's portrayed the first lady on Scandal, Young has retained affection for a woman with complex and ever-shifting morals. Like all of the characters on Scandal, Mellie crosses the line time and time again in the service of her greater good.