Viola Davis Quotes

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Viola Davis

Profession : Actress

Birth : August 11, 1965

I look back on those early days in the theater like the beginning of a love affair, when you're totally in love with the work, and that's all there is.

Viola Davis

So many women characters are extensions of male fantasy.

Viola Davis

August Wilson is the one writer that writes about men like my father, who had a fifth grade education, who was a janitor at McDonald's.

Viola Davis

'Rebel' is not a word I would describe for myself, but I feel like I was a total rebel being an actor. It made me feel like there was something in me, a passion, a love - and that I didn't just squelch it.

Viola Davis

When people come into the theater, whether it's the screen or the stage, they've gotta be transported and transformed.

Viola Davis

I just want different narratives for people of color, especially women of color. I just want something that's different. I don't want us to be put in a box. I want it to be kind of a redefinition of who were are. If I can even achieve that in a tiny way, I'll be good. I'll be good.

Viola Davis

We didn't have money all the time to do laundry. A lot of the time, we didn't have soap or hot water. We were smart kids academically, but we'd go to school smelling.

Viola Davis

I did everything to get food. I have stolen for food. I have jumped in huge garbage bins with maggots for food. I have befriended people in the neighborhood who I knew had mothers who cooked three meals a day for food, and I sacrificed a childhood for food and grew up in immense shame.

Viola Davis

I cannot believe my life. I just can't. I'm so blessed.

Viola Davis

You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.

Viola Davis

Acting is not rocket science, but it is an art form. What you are doing is illuminating humanity. Or not.

Viola Davis

When you are an actor, you are in the most powerless position in this business.

Viola Davis

I don't know why directing is not something I'm interested in.

Viola Davis

I think I've lived long enough to understand that plans really are very overrated.

Viola Davis

This is the richest country in the world. There's no reason kids should be going to school hungry. Food is something that everyone should have. It just is.

Viola Davis

I've had to sink my teeth into a role that was probably a fried-chicken dinner and make it into a filet mignon.

Viola Davis

I think tapping into one's power and one's potential is a very frightening thing.

Viola Davis

The more I'm pushed in a position of leadership and I know I have to be the mouthpiece for so many other people who can't speak for themselves, the more confidence I'm gaining.

Viola Davis