A biography for Viola Davishasn’t been written yet.
“Acting is not rocket science, but it is an art form. What you are doing is illuminating humanity. Or not.”
“When you see a parent pass, and you literally are there, and you're sitting at that deathbed, man, and you have to tell them to go, it defines life for what it really is.”
“That's why I do what I do, and that's why I wanted to be an actress from the time I was six years old. If I can't effectively move people, then I would prefer not to do it.”
“I know I'm not the best, but I'm proud of myself.”
“You have to have an unlimited imagination, an unlimited restraint on your inhibition when you're working. You have to even dare to fail, even in a scene, whatever it is.”
“My grandmom worked as a maid for most of her life, and she worked in the tobacco and the cotton fields, whatever she could get.”
“You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”
“It feels like my hard work has paid off, but at the same time, I still have the impostor, you know, syndrome. I still feel like I'm going to wake up, and everybody's going to see me for the hack I am.”
“In life, you know, they do this in focus groups; if you were in such and such circumstance, what would you do? Well, you never know what you're going do unless you're faced with it.”
“'Rebel' is not a word I would describe for myself, but I feel like I was a total rebel being an actor. It made me feel like there was something in me, a passion, a love - and that I didn't just squelch it.”
“That's always the biggest surprise when people meet me: how buoyant I am and how fun and light I am.”
“I love Wal-Mart. You can put that down. I love Wal-Mart. My husband and I hang out there.”
“I'm in the business of creating human beings.”
“When a character has so many secrets and so much inner life, it's a joy to play those characters because you can use your craft.”
“I look back on those early days in the theater like the beginning of a love affair, when you're totally in love with the work, and that's all there is.”
“I have had issues in the past with the characters and the limitations of the characters and the structure of the narratives given to me as a woman of color.”
“If I have to be at work at five A.M., I will get up at three and work out. I run. I do weights. I'm very toned. I'm like every other woman. I'd love to be 10 pounds or 20 pounds lighter. If I'm not, I'm OK with that, too. I'm good as long as I'm healthy.”
“We didn't have money all the time to do laundry. A lot of the time, we didn't have soap or hot water. We were smart kids academically, but we'd go to school smelling.”
“Turning 50 is making me reflect on my life in a way that's more compassionate and forgiving.”
“Tyler Perry's 'Madea Goes to Jail!' Which, I have to tell you, of everything that I've ever done in my career, that's the only thing that's perked up the ears of my nieces and nephews. That is it, that's done it for them. That made me a bona fide star in their eyes!”