Interview with Oscar Nominee Viola Davis - Doubt
Doubt, Antwone Fisher Actress Viola Davis Talks
Feb 23, 2009
Most actors and directors hit the tv talk show circuit and avoid the fifteen cities in sixteen days drag of a press tour. But Davis is a pro. She also wasn’t concerned about what to wear to the Oscars. “Anything I wear will look better than what I wore in the movie,” she says with a deep laugh. Doubt starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman is what gave Viola Davis the opportunity to grab for Oscar gold.
Viola Davis Wins Role Coveted by Every Black Actress
“Every black actress in America wanted this role,” she says as she faces the press onslaught at the Crescent Court in Dallas. “I hadn’t seen John Patrick Shanley’s play but I knew I wanted the role because of everything I heard during the Tony Awards for the Broadway production.” Everyone wanted this role including Oprah. The Pulitzer prize-winner is set in the Bronx of 1964. A Catholic school accepts its first black student, Donald Miller amidst vast changes in the church. On the side of the status quo we have Sister Aloysius (Streep) and then we have Father Flynn (Hoffman) who embraces the more inclusive changes of Vatican II. When Sister James (Adams) confides in Aloysius that Flynn may have an unhealthy interest in the new boy, the conflict is set.
At the heart of this is the one person who has the boy’s best interest – his mother - Viola Davis as Mrs. Miller. “I mean every black actress wanted this role. I ran into Marianne Jean-Baptiste and she told me she auditioned. I heard Halle Berry was there. We got down to the final six and they flew us to New York. I got the nod and they said you start rehearsing with Meryl Streep tomorrow at one o’clock,” she deadpans the panic.
Davis Says Meryl Streep is a Great Acting Partner
“They wanted me to look like I was in a hurry. I’m supposed to be late for work during the scene,” she states. The seven minute scene is the crucible of the film, the confrontation between Sister Aloysius and Mrs. Miller that is either going to be “a great failure or a great success. She is the best acting partner. She is bringing 100% so you don’t have to compensate. We shot it and I went back to LA. And then I got the call. ‘We need to re-shoot one part of that scene. Well, actually, we need to re-shoot the whole thing.’ John Patrick Shanley, its his fault, says that the scene is going so fast that it looks like I just stole somebody’s purse and am ready to run at any minute. So we slowed it down but kept a sense of urgency,” she explains.
Davis’ performance got her nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She won the National Board of Review award for Breakthrough Performance and she is OK with that. “I’m 43 and some would say that Antwone Fisher was my break out but if the National Board of Review says Doubt is my breakthrough, I’m not going to dispute it,” she laughs.
She is disturbed by the weight and age prejudices she finds in Hollywood. “I’ll take it if everyone says I look younger, thinner in person than in the film. I must have gained 30 pounds filming. When Meryl Streep offers you donuts and chocolate, you take them,” she says.“ But among black actresses there aren’t any off-center beauties. You can see the cap to your career. There aren’t a lot of roles for shy, introverted, quirky, strong characters. But Viola Davis makes the most of what she has been offered.
