The greatest advice Viola Davis ever received: “It’s about staying in your own path”
When it comes to the best and most influential female actors of Generation X, very few can compare to the legacy that Viola Davis has built for herself. Often taking on versatile roles that tackle the most important societal themes affecting women, Davis’s career has inspired many of the industry’s current juggernauts. Timothée Chalamet is one example, naming her as one of the greats whom he hopes to emulate in his own creative endeavours after he won the SAG Award for A Complete Unknown.
As do many actors who eventually establish themselves in Hollywood, Davis began her career in theatre. Starting in off-Broadway stage shows in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she soon moved onto Broadway, starring in Seven Guitars in 1996, earning her a nomination for a Tony award. Following suit with some of her most acclaimed peers, Davis then transitioned on both small and big screens to establish herself as a leading talent in the industry.
Before landing her major roles on screen, Davis took on a minor part in The Substance of Fire, the same year as her Tony nomination, as well as appearances in various crime TV shows. She had already managed to turn heads by 2000, but her more frequent appearances in the medical drama City of Angels became the ideal place for the actor to cement herself. Throughout the 2000s, Davis continued to hone her craft, winning her first Tony award for King Hedley II in 2001, culminating in a thoroughly deserved Oscar nomination for Doubt.
Despite excelling on film and TV sets, Davis remained loyal to the art form that started it all for her. The reintroduction of Fences on Broadway in 2010 arguably was her best work. Portraying Rose Maxson earned her a second Tony Award, and after it was adapted into a film in 2016, she won the Oscar for ‘Best Actress’.
Fences isn’t just a crucial piece of Black culture; the character of Rose Maxson is also an incredible representation of a Black woman standing firm in the face of adversity. Davis’s performance not only confirmed her as one of the greatest actors of her generation but also helped her achieve what she considered to be the most important: inspiring women.
In a conversation with Marie Claire, the award-winning actor opened up, saying that “I want women to know that we’re the loves of our own lives.” Before she became one of the key inspirations for women in the arts, Davis also spoke about the piece of advice that stuck with her. “Oh, that was from Miss Cicely Tyson. She said, ‘What is for you is for you, Viola. And what is not is not.’ She told me that before she passed away, and I love that. It’s about staying in your own path.”
Cicely Tyson is another pioneering Black woman who continued to inspire other women who’ve faced similar struggles like Davis throughout their careers, during a time when racial segregation was still rampant in the United States. She left a lasting impression on Davis, who ended up becoming one of the very few individuals to achieve EGOT status.
