That’s why there’s so much bad acting out there, because you could see actors watching themselves.
VIOLA DAVISThat’s why there’s so much bad acting out there, because you could see actors watching themselves.
VIOLA DAVISOne of the people I’ve always wanted to emulate in pursuing that dream was Meryl Streep, in terms of the different types of roles she’s been able to play and the number of different stories she’s been able to tell.
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 DAVISAny actor will tell you, as soon as your ego and your vanity come into the mix, it destroys your work. Completely destroys it.
VIOLA DAVISWe grew up in abject poverty. Acting, writing scripts and skits were a way of escaping our environment at a very young age.
VIOLA DAVISWhen you pray, God puts people in your life to lead you when you cannot lead yourself.
VIOLA DAVISPeople are just not impressed by me at home.
VIOLA DAVISI have been given a lot of roles that are downtrodden, mammy-ish.
VIOLA DAVISThey say, ‘To serve is to love,’ and I think to serve is to heal, too.
VIOLA DAVISSometimes you take a job for the money, sometimes you take it for the location, sometimes you take it for the script; there are just a number of reasons, and ultimately what you see is the whole landscape of it. But I can tell you from behind the scenes – that’s what it is, as an actor.
VIOLA DAVISI’ve been in this business 25 years. I’ve been eking out a living doing Broadway, off-Broadway… I’ve seen the unemployment line a lot.
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 DAVISI would love to star in a remake of Thelma and Louise. Yep, that’s the one I’d be interested in redoing.
VIOLA DAVISAnd “classically not beautiful” is a fancy term for saying ugly. And denouncing you. And erasing you.
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 would love to be remembered as a person who used her life to inspire others in any way, shape or form.
VIOLA DAVIS