VIOLA DAVIS LANDED the cover of The Hollywood Reporter for their ‘Women In Entertainment issue’. A buzz.
In her interview, the star of heist-thriller Widows discussed everything from leadership, the political landscape in America and how to not tie your self worth to your accolades. (A bit harder to do when you have an Oscar, one would would imagine.)
The most interesting discussion, however, centred on the #MeToo movement. She reckons it’s caused a shake-up in the industry, awakening it to the idea of onscreen diversity, which she continues to champion through her own production company.
“So many people in my profession don’t see the vast array of humanity as even being interesting,” she said. “They don’t think it’s interesting to have a dark-skinned, nappy-headed woman kissing the lips of a handsome white guy. They don’t think it’s interesting to tell a love story of someone from the LGBTQ community. They want to stick with The Brady Bunch and Gilligan’s Island.
But I see people. I observe people. I see stories, and you know what, I see a vast array of stories as being so interesting — and I feel like I have the power now to put it on the screen.
Now, I don’t have to walk into the room like a dude, and have a pretend penis and sling it on the table and say, ‘I’m in the room now. You need to freaking listen to me.’ I can come exactly how I am and I feel that my story, my understanding of people, my experiences, my vulnerability, my need to even embrace people, all of my feminine energy, is going to make me powerful.
I think that’s going to make me a game-changer.
It’s also forcing people to be angry about things and convey that anger publicly, according to Viola.
“[Because] what anger does to you is, it makes you realize when someone has crossed a boundary. Now people have gotten angry, they’re like, ‘I may have been quiet for a while, but I can’t be quiet anymore. You’ve got to see me.’
#MeToo, Time’s Up, Black Lives Matter — what is happening with all of that, is that people who are in power are going to be put to task. It’s time for people to acknowledge that the world is changing, that people are fighting to be seen.”
Let your 2019 New Year’s resolution allign with Viola’s – never underestimate your anger. Feel free to channel it as you see fit.
