On the night the nominees for the 81st Annual Academy Awards were
announced, Viola Davis was in a Four Season’s hotel with her husband
and publicist. Nervously waiting a call for her name in the category
for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Davis’ thoughts were interrupted
by her publicist’s premature celebration.
“My
publicist already had a bottle of champagne and orange juice. I said,
‘Don’t open that champagne until you hear that name, and it has to come
after ‘Cruz’ because if it doesn’t come after ‘Cruz’ it’s not going to
happen,’” Davis jokes.
Davis did eventually hear
her name, but for the people who know her best, the nomination was a
long-time coming. Portraying Mrs. Miller in the screen adaption of John
Patrick Shanley’s Doubt,
Davis is a mother whose son could be the target of sexual abuse by his
pastor. A veteran of stage and film, Davis is now being viewed as
Hollywood’s new ‘it” actress—despite a Tony award already under her
belt.
“I really appreciate when people see my
talent,” she shares. “Of course, with every role you get, depending on
who’s around you and how high-profile it is, you’re ‘rediscovered.’
I’ve been around for over 20 years, but you know, I’m in a film with
Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams and suddenly I’ve
‘emerged’. I’m ‘breakthrough’.”
Doubt
writer-director, John Patrick Shanley, has hailed Davis as the one of
the “best actors I’ve ever seen,” and recently Streep was seen at the
S.A.G. Awards touting her co-star’s acting chops. Davis is up against
stiff competition, facing off against co-star Adams, Penélope Cruz,
Taraji P. Henson and Marisa Tomei.
A
self-proclaimed shy actress – regardless of her increased buzz or
whether she takes the award home February 22nd – Davis is able to
maintain a sense of humor. “All of this that’s happening now – the one
thing that does make me feel good is that the ‘breakthrough’, the
‘unknown,’ didn’t screw up the film,” she jokes. “So that makes me feel
really great.” –gavin philip godfrey
