Kerry Washington finds sex scenes ''awkward''.

The 'Scandal' actress admits she finds it ''hard'' to shoot intimate scenes between her screen alter ego Olivia Pope with her co-star Tony Goldwyn, who plays Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, the married president of the Unites States, because she is being asked to do things she would normally only do with husband Nnamdi Asomugha.

She said: ''They're hard to do. Sex scenes are always awkward. You're doing things that you're supposed to do with only certain people in your life. Because this is not your real partner in life, doing that is awkward. And then doing it in a room full of people is awkward.''

And the 37-year-old actress - who has six-month-old daughter Isabelle with her spouse - worries about offending Tony's wife Jane Musky over their scenes and the surrounding interest.

She added in an interview with Allure magazine: ''Particularly with a show like ours, where people are so invested in the chemistry, you just learn to be careful, because people's real relationships in life are important. I so respect and admire his wife and him and their family, and he feels the same way about mine. And so you learn to be careful about how you say things.''

Meanwhile, Kerry confessed she regularly rehearses her scenes in her character's high-heeled shoes, even when she is dressed down for the day.

She said: ''There's a reason why you say, 'Oh, they walk in this world in a certain way.' Shoes have a big impact.

''Even in rehearsals at 'Scandal', oftentimes I'll ask for my shoes. I'll be standing around in my sweatpants and tank top and hoodie sweatshirt with Christian Dior or Gucci shoes, because I want to be able to walk and stand like Olivia.... How a person walks says a lot about who they are.''