ET Canada continues to celebrate Black History Month by shining a spotlight on Black excellence in Hollywood. As the first African-American performer to ever win the triple crown of acting – an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony – we’re taking a look back at Viola Davis’ career highlights in the video above, and how she’s used her platform to fight against racism.
In a recent interview with InStyle, Davis shares her thoughts on community, humanity, her authenticity and demanding her worth within the entertainment industry.
The 55-year-old tells the magazine of demanding her worth: “I want and I expect to get the same filet mignon that white actresses get. Cooked at the exact temperature. You cannot throw me a bone with a really nice little piece of meat still on it and expect that’s good enough for me. I love my collard greens and all of that, and I know we were given the leftovers.”
Adding, “I know how to cook that, but I want a filet mignon. The differences in pay and the lack of access to opportunities are huge. I fully expect changes. I’m trying to lift my hopes up. Even if it takes a little bit of vodka. If we don’t move forward together, then we don’t move forward.”
Davis goes on to talk about channelling her authenticity, telling the magazine: “I will say that I think my greatest source of strength is my authenticity. If I try to channel some other being, I get lost. That’s when my anxiety level goes up. Growing up in Central Falls [R.I.] as the only kinky-haired chocolate-brown girl, I always was trying to channel the girls who had the Farrah Fawcett look.”
“It had disastrous results. So the only thing I can do is channel my authenticity. That is really a powerful tool because we spend our entire lives trying to get there. If you are projecting that, that’s what people are attracted to,” she continues.
Davis adds of the Black Lives Matter movement: “In terms of Black Lives Matter, I am who I always am. What’s happening is what has always been happening. We just decided to wake up. How have I been able to process it? I have days when I fail miserably. And that’s when I need my two or three glasses of wine. But I’m trying not to lose hope in humanity.”
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“The only thing I can control in life is what I put into it. That’s the only thing I can do with Genesis [her 10-year-old daughter],” Davis continues. “Teach her that you still have to be kind, you still have to be empathetic. That that’s going to be a part of your legacy. You have no idea whose life you can shift. And at the same time, even someone who doesn’t share your belief system could be a friend. That is the complexity of life.”
Davis also opens up to the magazine about playing Ma Rainey, the Mother of Blues, and working with the late Chadwick Boseman on his final film “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”.
The December issue of InStyle is available on newsstands, on Amazon, and for digital download.
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