From 'Scandal' to the Guthrie: TV actor Jeff Perry takes a rare role as director

Director Jeff Perry is fully dedicated to Keith Huff's play "A Steady Rain," a duologue between two Chicago cops whose friendship is tested when they make a tragic mistake. But he's not sure he'll make Tuesday's premiere at the Guthrie Theater.

"It all depends on my invisible handcuffs," he said.

The "handcuffs" are better known as ABC's red-hot sensation "Scandal," in which Perry plays Cyrus Beene, the volatile White House chief of staff, whom Entertainment Weekly calls the "master manipulator of the West Wing."

If Perry is on Tuesday's call sheet for filming, he'll have to skip opening night.

"It's a nice problem to have," said Perry, 59, looking quite at ease last week in the Guthrie's Level Five cafe, despite the fact that he had had only four hours of rehearsal time in the Dowling Studio — the Guthrie's tiny "black box" stage — with his actors, Thomas Vincent Kelly and Sal Viscuso, who collaborated with him on the play in a Los Angeles staging this year.

His theater roots run deep, all the way back to when his high school teacher would drive Perry and his classmates to Minneapolis from the Chicago suburb of Highland Park so they could see plays at the Guthrie.

Shortly after graduation, Perry joined Gary Sinise and Terry Kinney in founding Steppenwolf Theatre.

In the case of "A Steady Rain," which is being staged for the first time in the Twin Cities, Perry was drawn to the play's complex twists and depth — the same reason, perhaps, that Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig performed it in 2009 on Broadway, setting box office records.

It's no surprise that when Perry does choose to direct, he gives his players wide range to experiment.

"He believes in the actor himself guiding the performance," said Mixed Blood founder Jack Reuler, a high school classmate of Perry's. "He'd rather the actor try a million things and tell them what's right instead of saying, 'Here's my vision. Do it this way.' "

Perry's decision to concentrate on being in front of the camera has made him a go-to character actor, especially on TV, where he's been featured in memorable story arcs on "My So-Called Life," "Chicago Hope" and "Prison Break."

But "Scandal" has taken his recognizability to a new level. "It's just the right amount of familiarity," he said.

Perry believes Rhimes' success has a lot to do with her belief in diversity.

"She always talks about growing up and not seeing people like her on TV," he said. "And later she thought, 'Well, if I felt that way, others must feel that way, too.' "

Perry's success hasn't gone to his head, said Reuler, with whom Perry stays when he's in town.

"He's still the same guy who used to play floor hockey in the basement all those years ago," he said.

Neal Justin • 612-673-7431