While shooting ABC's "Scandal," Guillermo Diaz often finds himself in a "dark place" when playing the former government interrogator and assassin, Huck.
"We shot for about ten months, I think, and it was grueling," Diaz told TheWrap.
"Huck is not a very happy, smiley character," he continued. "He’s in a dark place most of the show, so it’s tough to tap into that and shake that. It’s hard to shake it off. And at the same time, you don’t want to completely shake it off because I have to come back and do it the next day. So, it’s been tough. It’s been challenging, but so worth it."
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This season, Huck has been imprisoned, water-boarded, beat up and locked in a box for several hours. Then, viewers found out that he was in for way more emotional torture when memories of his former life – complete with a wife and baby – came flooding to back to him on the episode titled "Seven Fifty-Two."
"It was an emotional roller coaster for me," the Cuban-American actor remembered. "We were going from the present to when Huck is freaking out in the office repeating 'Seven Fifty-Two' and then we were shooting stuff in the past, in the flashback sequences where he’s very happy in some of them. So, we were doing a lot of that in the same day sometimes so I had to be happy and very distraught in the same days. It was a tough, grueling shoot but so worth it. I’m very proud of the episode."
As the hit drama moves into Thursday's season finale, the penultimate episode set up some major story twists. First of all, viewers discovered that Olivia Pope and Associates' newest member, David (Joshua Malina), has been betraying them this whole time.
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"As you can imagine if someone very close to you has betrayed you or you find out that they’ve been up to something that you didn’t’ know about," Diaz teased, "it’s going to be an interesting episode to say the least."
Also, Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) and Olivia's (Kerry Washington) romance hasn't been put on hold as a result of his declaration on the penultimate episode that he will run for a second term. That will clearly drive Cyrus (Jeff Perry) to the brink. "His emotions are always on 10," Diaz joked.
"When we read the finale script we were completely shocked and floored by what happened," he said. "So, I think the audience can expect to be, whatever you think is going to happen, the complete opposite is probably the case, which makes fun, exciting TV. It’s very unexpected what happens, I can tell you that."
"Scandal's" second season finale airs Thursday at 10 p.m./9c on ABC.
Watch a Season 2 recap before Thursday's finale below.