They say, ‘To serve is to love,’ and I think to serve is to heal, too.
VIOLA DAVISThey say, ‘To serve is to love,’ and I think to serve is to heal, too.
VIOLA DAVISIf the opportunity is not out there for you to play it, then you don’t see it.
VIOLA DAVISIn my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful, white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can’t seem to get there now. I can’t seem to get over that line.
VIOLA DAVISI think that what happens so often on screen is high-stake moments tends to look too pretty. And I just don’t think it’s honest.
VIOLA DAVISOrdinary people who are just kind of just going about their lives are transformed into heroes because they have the courage to put their voices out there. I think that’s a powerful message in this time of political strife.
VIOLA DAVISI guess they say, “Necessity is the mother of invention” because you have two stark choices when you find yourself in a really desperate situation. You can either fold and cave-in to it or you can become really passionate about getting out of it.
VIOLA DAVISYour internal dialogue has got to be different from what you say. And, you know, in film, hopefully that registers and speaks volumes. It’s always the unspoken word and what’s happening behind someone’s eyes that makes it so rich.
VIOLA DAVISThey say the two most important days in a person’s life were the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born.
VIOLA DAVISI just look at women sometimes and I just want to ask them, “Do you know how fabulous you are?”
VIOLA DAVISI’m a sitting duck. No, seriously, I mean I wish I could say more, but I’m a sitting duck because I can’t get ahead of them [cyber experts]. They’re far ahead of me. That’s what I learned: how vulnerable we are. It’s a big, silent monster out there. That’s what it feels like.
VIOLA DAVISThat is a huge need for a lot of women, even in 2016. You can have the most ambitious career woman, and at the end of the day, she’s like, ‘I just want to be a mom.
VIOLA DAVISSelf-deprecation is not an answer to keeping one’s balance. I think that it’s very damaging.
VIOLA DAVISI don’t have any time to stay up all night worrying about what someone who doesn’t love me has to say about me.
VIOLA DAVISI do believe that there are African Americans who have thick accents. My mom has a thick accent; my relatives have thick accents. But sometimes you have to adjust when you go into the world of film, TV, theatre, in order to make it accessible to people.
VIOLA DAVISYou cannot live to please everyone else. You have to edify, educate and fulfill your own dreams and destiny.
VIOLA DAVISIf the opportunity is not out there for you to play it, then you don’t see it.
VIOLA DAVIS