Cicely Tyson was my inspiration to become an actor.
VIOLA DAVISIf the opportunity is not out there for you to play it, then you don’t see it.
More Viola Davis Quotes
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That 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 DAVIS -
As an artist, you’ve got to see the mess. That’s what we do. We get a human being, and it’s like putting together a puzzle. And the puzzle has got to be a mixture, a multifaceted mixture of human emotions, and not all of it is going to be pretty.
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Eating bread in Hollywood is a no-no!
VIOLA DAVIS -
In 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 DAVIS -
I’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.
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If the opportunity is not out there for you to play it, then you don’t see it.
VIOLA DAVIS -
Ultimately, it’s not your job, as an actress, to satisfy people’s expectations or image of who you should be. Even in your life, you are just who you are.
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I 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.
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I think sometimes you have to see a physical manifestation of your dream. Otherwise you have to hope, pray and try to conjure something in your mind to feel like it’s possible.
VIOLA DAVIS -
I would love to be remembered as a person who used her life to inspire others in any way, shape or form.
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When your passion and drive are bigger than your fears, you just dive.
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We as artists cannot be politicians. We as artists can only be truth-tellers.
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Acting, it’s the disappearance of self, disappearance of your own needs and your own wants and the kind of embracing of the character that makes it work.
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When you see what the deficit is, then you have to do something about it.
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And “classically not beautiful” is a fancy term for saying ugly. And denouncing you. And erasing you.
VIOLA DAVIS