Entertainment
Viola Davis: The ‘Beautiful Creatures’ interview
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05 Feb 2013
- Written by Kam Williams
Viola Davis – who has string of high-profile performances set for release – talks about her latest outing as Amma in the screen adaptation of the romantic fantasy novel "Beautiful Creatures."
Kam Williams: Hi Viola, thanks for another opportunity to interview you.
Viola Davis: Absolutely!
KW: Congratulations on winning another NAACP Image Award. I loved your performance in "Won't Back Down."
VD: Thank you very much, Kam.
KW: Do you think the movie suffered from political blowback, the way that "Zero Dark Thirty" has been hurt at the box office because of controversy?
VD: Yeah, I think it definitely suffered from that because we were in an election year and because education is a hotbed issue. And people have strong opinions about public school education, unions, charter schools, and parent-trigger laws. Occasionally, the timing of a movie is just bad and I think, in the case of this movie, it was probably the worst.
KW: What interested you about "Beautiful Creatures?"
VD: What interested me was that the character wasn't what she appeared to be. That she had different secrets to be discovered. When you first meet her, she's kind of just woven into the fabric of this family. But then you see the tribal scarification on her back, and you see her channeling spirits. And then you learn that she's the keeper of a library that's the gateway to different worlds. I like that. I like when there are different layers to peel away. It was just subtle enough to play and to craft....
KW: Editor/legist Patricia Turnier asks: "Among all the characters you played, which one is closest to your personality and why?"
VD: You know who? The character I played in "Nights in Rodan," the movie I did with Diane Lane. Jean was kind of fun, and tough, sarcastic, artistic, creative, quirky and a little sexy. She was probably the closest to the real me.
KW: Patricia also points out that you'll be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year. She'd like to know what that means to you.
VD: I keep forgetting about that until someone reminds me again. I kid you not. What does it mean? It's hard for me to say that I've made it, because no real actor feels that way. But it does represent a physical manifestation of my dreams coming to fruition, if that makes any sense....
KW: Would you mind giving me a Viola Davis question?
VD: OK. Let's see... Who do you really believe you are when you go home as opposed to the person you pretend to be on the red carpet?
KW: That's a great question. Thanks. So, who do you really believe you are when you go home as opposed to the person you pretend to be on the red carpet?
VD: When I go home, I am a slug. I want to do everything completely opposite of what I do on the red carpet. (LOL) I like to take off all my makeup, put on a T-shirt, be completely unassuming and just do stuff with my husband and my daughter.
KW: Thanks again for the time, Viola, and best of luck with "Beautiful Creatures."
VD: Thanks, Kam.
(To see a trailer for "Beautiful Creatures," visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TnL6r8U818)
