Staying Fit
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Viola Davis, 57, is one of our greatest actresses working today — and she has an Oscar, an Emmy and two Tonys to prove it. This month, she stars in the historical epic The Woman King as General Nanisca, the leader of an all-female warrior squad who protected the African kingdom of Dahomey (present-day Benin) in the 18th and 19th centuries.
To prepare for the role, Davis underwent an intense training regimen to get her into fighting shape. “When I was a girl… I just wanted to be willowy and thin,” she told People. “I was always muscular and thicker, and I felt like my femininity could not be created with this canvas. And then all of a sudden, with this role, my muscles, my arms, my thick legs, my heavy voice were perfect. I felt unapologetic about it. I celebrated it physically in every way.”
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But even when Davis isn’t kicking literal butt, she’s made a career of playing fiercely independent women: mothers and wives, housekeepers and professors, and even a first lady. Here, nine more of the complex and complicated roles that have made Viola Davis an awards magnet and a fan favorite.
Doubt (2008)
The premise: Davis is only on screen for about 10 minutes in this movie based on John Patrick Shanley’s Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play, but she made such an impact that she earned her first Oscar nomination. Mrs. Miller is the mother of the only Black student at a Bronx Catholic school in the 1960s, and he may be getting abused by a priest named Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman). In her brief appearance, Davis shows extraordinary depth without ever looking like she’s capital-A acting, and she cemented her status as Hollywood’s best crier.
The fiercest moment: Almost the entire performance is confined to one explosive talk between Mrs. Miller and principal Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep, 73) — which Roger Ebert called “a scene as good as any I’ve seen this year.” He continued: “[If] Viola Davis isn’t nominated by the Academy, an injustice will have been done. She goes face to face with the preeminent film actress of this generation, and it is a confrontation of two equals that generates terrifying power.”
Watch it: Doubt on Prime Video, Apple TV
The Help (2011)
The premise: In this gently moving Civil Rights drama, Davis and eventual Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, 52, star as Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, two housekeepers working for white families in 1963 Mississippi. When Southern society girl Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) decides to begin interviewing them for a journalistic exposé about the racism they face from their white employees, the tight-knit community begins to unravel as personal secrets are revealed. Despite having to shoulder the burden of systemic and outright racism at every turn, Davis’s Aibileen maintains her warmth and quiet strength throughout, which is especially on display in the love she feels for the young white girl she cares for. Say it with us: “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” Aww.
The fiercest moment: You’ll want to cheer for Aibileen as she at long last stands up for herself in her final confrontation with the racist Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard).
Watch it: The Help on Prime Video, Apple TV, HBO Max, Hulu
How to Get Away with Murder (2014-20)
The premise: TV showrunner Shonda Rhimes, 52, has never shied away from creating complex female protagonists, but she may have outdone herself with Annalise Keating, a brilliant law professor who wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. Keating was filled with contradictions — at once selfish and a mentor to her students, arrogant and vulnerable, coolly professional and a hopeless romantic. Watching her work her magic in a courtroom was like witnessing a lioness take down prey, and in 2015 Davis became the first Black performer to win the Emmy for best actress in a drama.
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