Actor Edward Gero on Portraying Justice Antonin Scalia

Click on the audio player above to hear this interview.

Justice Antonin Scalia’s body will lie in repose in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court today, surrounded by marble busts of former chief justices.

Scalia knew he was a decisive justice. For half the country, Scalia will go down as an anti-gay rights and pro-gun fanatic. For the other half, he was a hero, a brave champion of the Constitution. 

Last spring, actor Edward Gero had to capture Scalia’s multifaceted personality in “The Originalist,” a stage play by John Strand performed at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor went to see the play during it’s run. Scalia never attended a performance, but he was well aware that his bombastic personality would live on throughGero, who spent a year studying Scalia, attending oral arguments, and meeting with him in his chambers and over lunch.

Last spring, we created a quiz based on quotes from “The Originalist” and Scalia’s own comments. Test yourself below.