Featured Image Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic via Getty/ABC
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Viola Davis gave fans an insight into the character she is most proud of and it is no surprise why she loved the role so much.
Acting can be a difficult gig to make work and many simply float through their career not really leaving a mark, but that is certainly not the case for Viola Davis.
Speaking at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, earlier this week, the actor explained how she related to the character and how it marked a shift in her career.
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She was, of course, talking about her role as Annalise Keating, in the TV drama thriller How to Get Away with Murder.
If you haven’t seen it, what are you doing? The holiday period is here so there really isn’t a better time to binge the brilliant series.
The show premiered on ABC back in September 2014 and, after six seasons, concluded in May 2020.
Davis highlighted how Keating was a complex and fascinating character. Viewers are treated to her strengths and weaknesses as an individual as well as seeing her reaction to heavenly high victories and soul-crushing defeats.
As per Variety, she said: “The reason why I think I’m proud of it is because I felt it was brave of me. I haven’t always been brave in my life, but that was one moment that I was brave.
“I had a decision to make: I could just join the crop of women who work on TV who, to be honest, they have a certain look in the lead roles.
“There’s so many people who said, ‘Oh, she’s miscast. Annalise Keating is described as mysterious and sexual and all that, and that can’t be Viola.’”
The actor also broke down how she decided to go against the 'typical' idea of a lead female character.
She continued: “I had to at least try to lose weight and try to be that woman who could be on television, which is not going to happen. I was about 50 years old at the time. It’s not like I was going to do Botox and start eating string beans.
“So, then I had to ask some questions: Why do I have to be that woman?
“And every time I asked, ‘Why?’ I got to the truth of who Annalise was, and so then I had something to work with, which is trying the best I could with network TV writing to make her some semblance of a human being, and so that was the first thing with Annalise Keating.”
Fans on social media couldn’t agree more with Davis’ choice and praised the star for her efforts in the iconic role.
One Twitter user said: “Her speech at her trial……… literal chills. A character for the history books.”
Another wrote: “Viola Davis as Annalise Keating is a masterclass in acting, powerful, complex, and unforgettable.”
A third added: “I don't think you'll see more of a range of acting as you will see with Keating on video/TV. It is a testament to Davis's essential brilliance.”
While someone else commented: “The trailer hooked me into watching the entire series... she plays the role so damn well, like a true professor.”