By winning a Grammy for her audiobook/memoir earlier this month, Viola Davis has achieved EGOT status, becoming only the third Black woman to do so and the eighteenth person overall. The road to this honorary status began in 2001 when she won a Tony award for King Hedley II. Then, in 2015, she won an Emmy for Lead Actress for portraying Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder. 2017 was the year she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the movie Fences.
Both How to Get Away with Murder and Fences were entertaining to watch, and Davis gave riveting performances in each. However, there are so many other performances of hers that showcase her extreme talent and range as an actress. Here are a few of her movies, television shows, and interviews that I recommend:
Doubt–without revealing too much, she plays Mrs. Miller, the mother of one of the boys at a Catholic School where there is doubt surrounding the innocence of the relationship between the head priest and his students. Her character only speaks for a few minutes throughout the whole movie, but I guarantee that her gut-wrenching performance will stay with you long after the credits roll.
The Help–one of my favorite movies! Davis plays Aibileen Clark, the nanny for a wealthy white family. The relationship she develops with the child she cares for proves that love and joy do not discriminate. Her strong attitude and ability to be vulnerable and tell her story is a pivotal moment in a film that follows the struggles of Black women in the south.
The Unforgivable–Viola Davis plays Liz Ingram, a woman who now occupies Sandra Bullock’s character’s childhood home. This performance demonstrates the subtly of her craft, as I would not consider her to be a main character in this film.
Her 7 Episode Stint on Law and Order SVU–here she plays Donna Emmett, a defense attorney that becomes a small recurring character. I love her cameo in this series because she is playing a strong attorney before her show How to Get Away with Murder gave her the reputation of a badass criminal defense attorney whose character now lives in infamy.
Her “Hot Ones” Interview on First We Feast’s YouTube Channel–one of my favorite guests they have had on the show. She proves that her strength goes beyond the screen as she tackles hot wings that get progressively spicier as the interview continues. She promotes her memoir (you know, the one that gained her EGOT status) and her recent film, The Woman King (another great performance).