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One-on-One
with Viola Davis
Academy Award
Nominated Actress Opens Up About Film Career, Challenges
of Black Actors in Hollywood
By CHRISTOPHER WINDHAM
Viola
Davis has waited for her time to shine.
The veteran theater actress, who rose to Hollywood’s
A-list for her Academy Award-nominated performance
in 2008’s “Doubt,” is now securing
top roles alongside the most bankable actors in film.
In the recently released “Law Abiding Citizen,”
Davis, 44, plays the strong Philadelphia Mayor April
Henry, whose city is being terrorized by a serial
killer played by Gerard Butler. That role comes on
the heels of a variety of acting parts in such movies
as Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail”
and “State of Play” with Russell Crowe
and Ben Affleck.
Davis is currently filming “Knight & Day”
with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, and will have a
featured role alongside Julia Roberts in “Eat,
Pray, Love,” the movie adaptation of Elizabeth
Gilbert's memoir. She’s also been casted in
a recurring role on Showtime’s “United
States of Tara” series.
“I’m
an actor,” Davis says. “I go for whatever
roles out there. I’m doing some roles where
people may see different facets of me.”
Before her break-through role in “Doubt,”
in which she played the mother of boy suspected to
have been molested by a priest, Davis was best known
for her work on the theater circuit. In 2001, Davis
won the Tony Award for “Best Performance by
a Featured Actress in a Play” for her role in
August Wilson’s “King Hedley II.”
She’s also appeared on dozens of television
shows in a variety of roles.
Human Nature recently caught up with Davis at the
13th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, where she discussed
juggling multiple movie roles, the challenges for
black actors in Hollywood and her thoughts on playing
the First Lady in a movie role.
You’ve
undertaken a variety of movie roles, what do you look
for when selecting parts?
I
don’t know if I’m trying so much to get
the public to see different facets of me as much as
I’m trying to work…as just a black actress.
The
challenges for African-Americans in Hollywood have
been noted by black executives and actors in the industry,
including the scarcity of quality roles available
for black actresses. With so much competition, how
do you stand out to secure such high profile roles?
I
just do the work. I think that when people see talent
and they’re moved by it, I think they will honor
it. That’s all I can hope for as an actress.
There are so few roles out there for black actresses.
You have so many of us fighting for the same roles
even though we’re not the same type.
Do
you think Hollywood is leery of casting an African-American
man with an African-American woman in the lead roles
for certain movies?
Yes,
and I don’t think it’s the responsibility
of the black male as much as it is on Hollywood and
the studios. I think they [film executives] have a
perception of beauty. And male stars have to be seen
as virile and sexually appealing. And so they have
to be paired with a woman that Caucasians, blacks,
Hispanics find desirable. I think there is a sense
in our culture that people don’t find black
women desirable. I think it’s too much.
A
Hollywood movie about Barack Obama could one day be
made. Would you like to play Michelle Obama if that
movie comes to fruition?
Absolutely,
I’ll be honored to play her. I’ll play
anybody. There are so many stories to be told other
than Barack and Michelle… stories that probably
didn’t even make the headlines. They’re
human stories and I’d like to be a part of any
of them. 
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