Santa Monica, CA — It wasn’t Britney or Paris, but campaigning in the Los Angeles area Tuesday, Rudy Giuliani had his own celebrity sighting.

During a quick campaign stop at the “The Counter” diner, Giuliani met actress Kerry Washington. A D.C. native, Washington has starred in multiple recent hits including “Ray,” and “The Last King of Scotland.”

But the run-in was not at random. Washington said she planned to be at the Giuliani event as part of an ongoing, multiple-location fashion shoot that will eventually be published in the New York Times Magazine. The spread will feature the actress dressed in various labels at a number of political events.

Arriving at the diner wearing camera-ready makeup and dressed in a black, red and white designer suit, Washington stationed herself near the entrance alongside a photographer and was able to snag a couple quick photos with Hizzoner. (see video) It was clear that Giuliani did not immediately recognize the actress, greeting her like every other patron by posing for a photo, saying hello and immediately moving on.

After he took a few media questions inside the diner, Washington again tried to catch the former NYC mayor on his way out for a couple more photos, but Giuliani passed her by without stopping.

Campaign aides said they were previously unaware of the shoot and did not initially recognize the celeb–forcing Washington to introduce herself as an “actress” to staffers. (Full disclosure: I also did not initially recognize Washington.)

Don’t expect Washington to join Giuliani on the trail anytime soon however. The visit was strictly “business,” Washington said–telling me afterward that she is not a Giuliani supporter and was solely at the campaign appearance for the photo shoot.

And here is a piece of random trivia. It turns out that today was not the first time Giuliani and Washington have been at the same event this year. The politico and the actress were both guests of various media at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner held in D.C. this past spring.