The role that changed everything for Viola Davis: “The tipping point”
As it stands, only 27 people have ever won an EGOT. This remarkable achievement involves winning all four of America’s top entertainment awards; an Emmy (TV acting); a Grammy (music); an Oscar (movie acting); and a Tony (stage acting). Only 21 of those people are still alive, and one of them is the great Viola Davis.
The accomplished actor got her first foot on the ladder in 2001, when she scooped the Tony for ‘Best Featured Actress in a Play’ for King Hedley II. She won an Oscar in 2017 for her role in Fences (she also cinched a second Tony for appearing in the stage version of the story seven years earlier) and rounded off her collection in 2023 with the Grammy for ‘Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording’. But what about the Emmy? That was won for her role in the legal drama How to Get Away with Murder.
Produced by American TV guru Shonda Rhimes, the show aired on ABC between 2014 and 2020. Davis plays Annalise Keating, a lawyer and lecturer who becomes entrenched in a devious murder plot. With the help of some of her students, Keating must use all of her skills to find the real killer. Davis blew everyone away with this performance, with many highlighting as the best of her long career. In 2015, she became the first Black woman to win ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series’, which in turn would help her become the first Black woman (and third African-American overall) to win the EGOT.
“How to Get Away With Murder was the tipping point,” Davis told IndieWire. “That’s the one that changed everything. Believe it or not, it just did. I don’t question it, it’s just what it is. It’s now in 150-something territories, it’s watched by a lot of people and all of a sudden it’s opened me up to a whole different audience. And who could’ve thunk it, after 30 years in the business. But so be it, you know?”
Davis began her acting career in the late 1980s and first found fame on the stage in the 1990s. She made her Broadway debut in 1996, starring in a play opposite Keith David. In the late 90s, she began making small appearances in Hollywood movies. Steven Soderbergh clearly saw something in her, as he gave her a job in four of his films from around this time, beginning with Out of Sight and ending with his remake of Solaris.
It wasn’t just How to Get Away with Murder that put Davis on the map. The actor also credits the 2011 film The Help for bringing her to more mainstream eyes. She plays Aibileen Clark, the servant at the heart of this racially-charged drama. Appearing opposite Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Octavia Spencer, and Bryce Dallas Howard did wonders for Davis’ career. It earned her an Oscar nomination for the first time. However, she has since expressed regret that she took the role, saying that she ‘betrayed herself and her people’ by starring in it.
There are many wonderful actors who try and fail to make the leap from the stage to the screen. Thankfully, Davis’ talent and determination meant that she wasn’t part of this unfortunate statistic. The world is a better place for her success.
