source
Viola Davis has played a number of amazing roles, including the revolutionary character of Annalise Keating in the hit show How to Get Away with Murder. The actress is pushing boundaries for how older black women are portrayed on television, and she thinks that producers can do better.
She noticed discrimination
Before playing Keating, Davis never had a provoking role in her career. “There were lot of things that people did not allow me to be until I got [the role of] Annalise Keating” she said. “And here’s the thing that’s even more potent: I’ve never seen anyone who even looks like me be provoking on television or in film. Ever.” There are limited roles available for older black women on television and the characters they get to portray often do not have much range.
{adinserter CNP5}
A new pressure
Another thing Davis struggled with was the pressure women face to play likable characters on television. “The thing I had to get used to with TV was the likability factor. People have to like you, people have to think you’re pretty. I was going to have to face a fact that people were going to look at me and say: ‘I have no idea why they cast her in a role like this. She just doesn’t fit. It should have been someone like Halle Berry. It’s her voice, and she doesn’t walk like a supermodel in those heels.’ And people do say that they do.”
Davis was initially terrified to play the role
“Fear would be an understatement,” she said about playing the character. “When I saw myself for the first time in the pilot episode, I was mortified. I saw the fake eyelashes and, “Are you kidding me? Who is going to believe this?” And then my big “aha” moment was: “This is your moment to not typecast yourself, to actually play a woman who is provoking and do your investigative work as an actor to find out who this woman is, and woman up and put a real woman on TV who’s smack-dab in the midst of this pop fiction.”
Pushing boundaries
But now, she has gotten over her fear. She no longer cares about what people think. Davis will continue to push the boundaries of what older black women can play on television. When people say they’re tired of hearing that, I always say, ‘Okay, well, you give me an example and then I’ll stop talking about it. But I’m gonna talk about it until you hear it…I don’t want anyone putting any limits on me. I am tired of it. Because as a human being, there are times when I don’t know who the hell I am until the situation presents itself.”
Powerful moments
Over the course of How to get Away With Murder, the actress challenged stereotypes about black women while remaining strong, yet vulnerable. There was a particularly powerful moment in the series last year when the character slowly removed her makeup and wig. This impacted not only the character but was also a powerful moment for black women on television.
SEE ALSO: She Is Fighting Violence Against Women In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo.
