Viola Davis by Kendall
Viola Davis is an American actor with several noteworthy awards in her repertoire. She was born on August 11th, 1965. ~As a young girl, she grew up in the small town of St. Matthew’s in South Carolina. In this household, Davis learned a lot about civil right activism from her mother, who was, among other things, was a prominent civil rights activist. This prepared her for the challenges she might face as an African American actor. ~Her love of acting started with her involvement in the acting department at her high school in South Carolina, Central Falls High School. ~
Davis has starred in several different critically acclaimed films following the work of several different directors. ~She got her first acting award in 2001, aged 36, for her role as Tonya in the film King Hedley II. ~For this, she won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award, beating out Johanna Day, Penny Fuller, Marthe Keller and Michele Lee to win this prestigious award. ~She then went on to play medium and small roles in multiple different movies and TV show directed by numerous esteemed directors. ~After this, she played Mrs. Miller in the 2008 movie Doubt and was nominated for several different awards including a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. ~She unfortunately did not win either of these awards. ~In 2009, Viola Davis was inducted into The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science which is an organization made up of over six thousand professionals of motion picture related jobs. ~Then, in 2010, she won her second Tony Award for her portrayal of Rose Maxson in August Wilson’s Fences. ~She was only the second African-American woman to win this award after Phylicia Rashad, who won this award for her role in the 2004 Broadway show Raisin in the Sun. ~In 2011, Viola Davis played one of her bigger roles in the screen adaptation of the novel The Help. ~In this film, she played the role of Aibileen Clark, a lifelong housekeeper for white folks in Jackson, Mississippi. ~For this performance, she became well known as a critically acclaimed actor, winning two Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as getting her second Academy Award nomination (though she did not win this one either, losing to Meryl Streep in the end). ~For this performance she was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award and BAFTA. ~This was one of Viola Davis’ best and most well-known performances of all time. ~Then, in 2012, Time Magazine named her one of the most influential people in the entire world. ~Also in 2012, Davis was selected as Glamour’s Film Actress of the Year Award by Glamour magazine. ~Then, after this, she was awarded Women in Film’s Crystal Award by her Academy Award rival and close friend Meryl Streep. ~In the summer of 2012, it was announced that Davis would be one of a new group of film professionals to be given stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ~Overall, 2012 was one of Viola Davis’ best years in terms of recognition for her work. ~Now, her main acting job is the lead role as Annalise Keating in the hit TV series How To Get Away With Murder. Also in 2014, it was announced that Davis would be playing Amanda Waller in the upcoming 2016 DC Comics movie Suicide Squad.
In terms of her acting methods and goals, Davis has some very specific goals for her performances. ~In an interview about The Help with Christina Radish and the Collider, Davis says that she has always wanted to play a multi-faceted character like the one she plays in this film. ~According to Davis, in order to be a successful actor, you have to be a good problem-solver. ~She says, that when tackling a difficult character or role, it is like solving a large problem. She says that when she solves a large problem or successfully portrayed a difficult and complex character, that she feels great, brilliant. But, as she says, not many complex or challenging character are often available for women, especially African-American women. Davis says that she barely ever gets to feel great about a role she plays because of the limited acting options available to her. "You so rarely get to do that, as an actress in general, but as a black actress, it’s almost never. You’re in two or three scenes, and you maybe have a funny bit, here or there, or you might be sassy and strong or cuss somebody out, and then you’re gone. You don’t really even need a name." This is what Davis says in her interview with the Collider. In The Help, Davis plays a reserved and quiet character, which is quite the opposite of herself in real life. She tries to get into the mind of the challenging character and figure out how that character would react in different situations, not how she herself would react. Overall, Viola Davis is a very inspirational and diverse actor who has had a great acting career. Her methods of acting seem to work for her and have helped Davis to become the great actor she is today.
Overall, I have learned a lot ab out how to get into the mind of the character I’m playing in our class play. I have learned that, in order to successfully portray my character, I have to figure out how my character would react in different situations. Hopefully I will be able to use this method and information to better act in our class. Overall, this research has helped me understand how to improve my acting.
Davis has starred in several different critically acclaimed films following the work of several different directors. ~She got her first acting award in 2001, aged 36, for her role as Tonya in the film King Hedley II. ~For this, she won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award, beating out Johanna Day, Penny Fuller, Marthe Keller and Michele Lee to win this prestigious award. ~She then went on to play medium and small roles in multiple different movies and TV show directed by numerous esteemed directors. ~After this, she played Mrs. Miller in the 2008 movie Doubt and was nominated for several different awards including a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. ~She unfortunately did not win either of these awards. ~In 2009, Viola Davis was inducted into The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science which is an organization made up of over six thousand professionals of motion picture related jobs. ~Then, in 2010, she won her second Tony Award for her portrayal of Rose Maxson in August Wilson’s Fences. ~She was only the second African-American woman to win this award after Phylicia Rashad, who won this award for her role in the 2004 Broadway show Raisin in the Sun. ~In 2011, Viola Davis played one of her bigger roles in the screen adaptation of the novel The Help. ~In this film, she played the role of Aibileen Clark, a lifelong housekeeper for white folks in Jackson, Mississippi. ~For this performance, she became well known as a critically acclaimed actor, winning two Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as getting her second Academy Award nomination (though she did not win this one either, losing to Meryl Streep in the end). ~For this performance she was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award and BAFTA. ~This was one of Viola Davis’ best and most well-known performances of all time. ~Then, in 2012, Time Magazine named her one of the most influential people in the entire world. ~Also in 2012, Davis was selected as Glamour’s Film Actress of the Year Award by Glamour magazine. ~Then, after this, she was awarded Women in Film’s Crystal Award by her Academy Award rival and close friend Meryl Streep. ~In the summer of 2012, it was announced that Davis would be one of a new group of film professionals to be given stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ~Overall, 2012 was one of Viola Davis’ best years in terms of recognition for her work. ~Now, her main acting job is the lead role as Annalise Keating in the hit TV series How To Get Away With Murder. Also in 2014, it was announced that Davis would be playing Amanda Waller in the upcoming 2016 DC Comics movie Suicide Squad.
In terms of her acting methods and goals, Davis has some very specific goals for her performances. ~In an interview about The Help with Christina Radish and the Collider, Davis says that she has always wanted to play a multi-faceted character like the one she plays in this film. ~According to Davis, in order to be a successful actor, you have to be a good problem-solver. ~She says, that when tackling a difficult character or role, it is like solving a large problem. She says that when she solves a large problem or successfully portrayed a difficult and complex character, that she feels great, brilliant. But, as she says, not many complex or challenging character are often available for women, especially African-American women. Davis says that she barely ever gets to feel great about a role she plays because of the limited acting options available to her. "You so rarely get to do that, as an actress in general, but as a black actress, it’s almost never. You’re in two or three scenes, and you maybe have a funny bit, here or there, or you might be sassy and strong or cuss somebody out, and then you’re gone. You don’t really even need a name." This is what Davis says in her interview with the Collider. In The Help, Davis plays a reserved and quiet character, which is quite the opposite of herself in real life. She tries to get into the mind of the challenging character and figure out how that character would react in different situations, not how she herself would react. Overall, Viola Davis is a very inspirational and diverse actor who has had a great acting career. Her methods of acting seem to work for her and have helped Davis to become the great actor she is today.
Overall, I have learned a lot ab out how to get into the mind of the character I’m playing in our class play. I have learned that, in order to successfully portray my character, I have to figure out how my character would react in different situations. Hopefully I will be able to use this method and information to better act in our class. Overall, this research has helped me understand how to improve my acting.