Viola Davis portrays the former first lady of the United States in a new TV drama, and she admits that it was a nerve-wracking experience.
“You’re terrified whenever you start a job because you are afraid you are going to be found out — that’s big imposter syndrome. But with Michelle Obama, it’s like everyone has ownership over Michelle Obama. I mean, her book came out and it was [on every] bestseller list, everyone knows what she looks like what she sounds like, what her hair [is like], you know?” she shared.
Davis was also concerned about what Obama would think of her performance in “The First Lady.” The actress told “Entertainment Tonight,” “There’s a sort of sister bond there for me, you know that girl code like, I gotta make the sister look good.
“It’s all those things that you don’t think about as an actor [because] it has nothing to do with acting. When you play someone you don’t make any editorial comments about them, they are who they are, you don’t put it in any machine and water it down or make it reductive so, it was all the things that scare you.”
Davis also hailed the former first lady for believing in the American ethos.
“The ideals and the ethos of this country are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all, and we continue to miss that … I don’t think it’s probably gonna happen in my lifetime, [but] I just want it to be right. … It’s the famous quote by [former United States Representative] Barbara Jordan, ‘What the people want is very simple — they want an America as good as its promise.’ And that’s what, I feel like I can honestly say, I feel like that was Michelle Obama’s big thing too,” she said.
