Three-time Tony nominee Kate Burton, 56, is appearing alongside her son, Morgan Ritchie, in the Huntington Theatre Company’s new production of Chekhov classic The Seagull. The daughter of producer Sybil Burton and the legendary Richard (and stepdaughter of screen icon Elizabeth Taylor), Kate Burton earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, where she now serves as a trustee. She later earned a graduate degree from the Yale School of Drama. She’s appeared on Broadway in productions such as Hedda Gabler and The Elephant Man, and her numerous film credits include Big Trouble in Little China, The Ice Storm, Unfaithful and 127 Hours. She’s also appeared extensively on television, with recurring roles on shows like Grey’s Anatomy, but she recently achieved a new level of notoriety for her portrayal of Vice President Sally Langston (who murders her husband) on the hit TV show Scandal. She lives in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Soroff: So have you ever actually tried to kill your husband?
Kate Burton: [Laughs] No. Doing it on television satisfied that particular homicidal impulse.

How does the daughter of one of the greatest actors of his generation get the cojones to act?
Well, I didn’t originally set out to act. It’s not what I studied as an undergraduate, but eventually I just realized it was what I wanted to do. I think acting is one of those things you do because you can’t not do it.

So it’s bred in the bone?
I guess in some way, yes. My father, me, my son, we all share some kind of genetic predisposition.

Did you ever find it difficult to act with your father or your son?
No. At first there’s a certain awareness, but once we get to work, I actually forget that this person is related to me by blood, which might sound strange, but it’s true. It’s also probably a testament to what a good actor my son is.

Favorite theater?
The Huntington, and I’m not just saying that because I’m appearing there. The physical attributes—it’s just a jewel—and the people involved are all fantastic. Boston’s very, very lucky to have the Huntington Theatre Company.

What theater superstitions do you follow?
I guess the standard ones: saying “the Scottish play” and all that. But I’m not a terribly superstitious person. I am a creature of habit, so I tend to do things the same way before going onstage, like the way I put on a costume or whatever. But not much more than that.

So who’s the first lady of the Williamstown Theatre Festival: you or Blythe Danner?
I don’t think either of us is at this point. It’s probably someone much younger.

What role took the most out of you emotionally?
I think probably The Cherry Orchard [a 2007 Huntington production]. It was very draining but also incredibly rewarding.

What if you became so associated with a role, like Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly!, that you had to do it over and over again?
I’d quit.

When you were young, did you have any idea of the media circus surrounding your family?
Oh, sure, you couldn’t help but notice it, but kids are very resilient, and my parents were very good at protecting us from it. I just assumed that was what happened.

Your father and Elizabeth Taylor were sort of the birth of tabloid culture. Do you have any advice for people like Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber or Lindsay Lohan?
That’s very true about my father and Elizabeth. It was sort of the start of this obsession with celebrity. But with these young actors, I just feel sad that they live in this environment that almost ensures they’ll behave erratically. You have these very talented, impressionable young people surrounded by assistants and managers and other people with a vested interest, who enable them to behave however they choose. They never hear the word no. It’s no wonder they end up acting outlandishly.

Do you have a favorite Elizabeth Taylor memory?
Oh, God. So many. Elizabeth was great. She was a wonderful stepmother to me. I mostly remember mundane things, like eating breakfast together, but she was so funny and great fun to be with. Wonderful with children. Very down to earth and earthy. I was very lucky. I had two fantastic stepparents, because my mother married [actor and singer] Jordan Christopher, who was also a tremendous influence in my life.

Are soap operas great training ground for an actor?
No. But they are interesting. It’s an intense amount of work, a lot of dialogue to remember. I have a lot of respect for soap opera actors.

Has Joe Biden been in touch?
[Laughs] Not yet. I’m not sure he’d want to be associated with my character on Scandal.

Do you find that people come to see you in plays because they’ve seen you on TV or in films?
I suppose some do, and that’s probably more pronounced in more isolated places, but in a city like Boston, I don’t think so. Bostonians just love the theater, and they come to see it because of that.

Favorite thing about living in California?
The accessibility of nature. It’s a big city, but the ocean and the mountains are literally minutes away.

So what does a Tony nomination mean for your payday?
Not very much, I’m afraid. The theater doesn’t pay the way film or television does. But I guess it’s easier to get work, and I’m just grateful to be a working actor.

Speaking of Tonys, is Tony Goldwyn as wildly sexy as I think he is?
Well, I definitely don’t see him that way. We’ve known each other far too long. He is an absolutely brilliant man, though. And from someone else’s perspective, I can see the appeal. He’s a very compelling, magnetic person.

Best movie you ever appeared in?
It’s a tie between The Ice Storm and 127 Hours.

You’ve narrated a lot of audio books as well. Is that lucrative?
Not particularly, but it’s tremendously gratifying. I really enjoy it.

Actor you’d love to work with?
That list is far too long for an interview, but definitely Judi Dench.

Is there anyone you would never work with again?
Yes, but I don’t think I’ll name names.

You once said that you get cast as the sweet wife or the sweet dead wife. Do you think your role on Scandal has changed that?
Well, my character certainly isn’t sweet on Scandal, so I guess the winds have shifted.