Tony Goldwyn Talks Plans for Upcoming 60th Birthday: ‘Hopefully We Won’t Be Doing It Over Zoom’

Tony Goldwyn has used his time at home to be part of a handful of virtual events, like a Scandal anniversary Instagram celebration with costar Kerry Washington, an Earth Day town hall with World War Zero, and a conversation about unemployment put on by Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. And on Friday, the actor, 59, will host Americares’ COVID Is No Joke comedy benefit featuring appearances by Elizabeth Banks, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Mindy Kaling, Patton Oswalt and more.

“The idea that I’ll be the one threading the needle with Will Ferrell, Jack Black and Elizabeth Banks and a lot of people I know, it’s such a fun thing,” the Scandal star tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “And for me personally not being a comedian, that’s really thrilling for me.”

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Goldwyn, an Americares board member and longtime supporter, feels pretty comfortable with the video conferencing technology at this point.

“The first one I did two weeks ago or something, I was very disoriented by it frankly,” the father of two admits. “But I’ve done a couple more since then and I think I am getting the hang of it. It’s amazing how quickly one can get used to new formats when you need to.”

So for Friday’s live charity event benefiting coronavirus relief efforts, he says, “We’ll see how it goes.”

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Goldwyn’s also gotten used to a new routine. “Routine has become key because I realize otherwise my hair is never combed and I never wear pants,” he jokes. “But I’ve been doing a lot of cooking, I’m getting really precious time with my wife and one of my daughters, who’s home from grad school — my other one lives on the other coast — so we just have family time that we don’t get. That’s just a real silver lining to this whole thing.”

Before the world slowed down due to the coronavirus outbreak, Goldwyn planned to celebrate turning 60 on May 20 with one of his daughters, who also has a milestone birthday coming up next month.

“One of my daughters is turning 30 in May and I’m turning 60, so we were going to have a joint party,” Goldwyn says. “Hopefully we won’t still be doing it over Zoom, but if that’s what it is, that’s the least of our problems. We’ll figure something out.”

Goldwyn doesn’t need a real-life party to stay in touch with friends like his former Scandal costars, who he says have remained close since the ABC drama’s finale aired two years ago.

“We’re all still really good friends and stay in very close touch with one another,” the SAG nominee says. “I don’t foresee a Scandal reunion happening in terms of the show, but we’re still very much a family.”

No matter what state the world finds itself in come May 20, Goldwyn can always bake up a delicious birthday treat.

“I’ve been doing more baking than I’ve ever done, like berry cobblers,” he says. “I made a blueberry cake, which was really good. And I’m making more inventive pastas, like a lobster Pomodoro. I really like to cook, but I had sort of a repertoire of what I was comfortable with, so now that I’m cooking every meal at home, it’s been about broadening my horizons.”

COVID Is No Joke will air Friday at 8 p.m. ET on covidisnojoke.org and Americares’ YouTube channel.

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