Viola Davis Recalls Her Favorite Acting Role Opposite Chadwick Boseman
Venerable actor Viola Davis shared her favorite acting role of her career, a part that had her star alongside the late Chadwick Boseman. The Black Panther star died prematurely at age 43 due to stage IV colon cancer, a diagnosis Boseman hid from the public. Before the actor's untimely passing, Davis and Boseman's careers crossed paths, with the late actor making such an impact on Davis that she now holds one of those roles as her most treasured.
Although Davis began her career in the early 90s with roles on stage before transitioning to film and television by the end of the decade, it wasn't until her breakout role in 2008's drama Doubt that she caught Hollywood's eye. She has since had prominent roles in such works as The Help, Prisoners, and Suicide Squad. In 2016, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the screen adaptation of the August Wilson play Fences for her role as Rose Lee Maxson. Davis can be currently seen in the Showtime anthology series, The First Lady as Michelle Obama.
In an interview with The Guardian, Davis recalled a role that had her star alongside Chadwick Boseman, a part that she now calls her favorite of her career. That role is of Susie Brown, James Brown's mother, in the 2014 biopic Get on Up. To much critical acclaim, Boseman portrayed the soul, funk, and R&B singer. Davis added:
"I enjoyed being in Mississippi. I loved Chadwick, loved Chadwick. It was sort of awesome."
While working on Get On Up, Davis revealed that she had an affectionate nickname for Boseman. She would call him "baby," a term of endearment for the fact that she played his mom and how much she cared for him. Davis and Boseman later starred alongside each other in the Netflix adaptation of August Wilson's play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Davis portrayed the titular character, a larger-than-life blues singer known as the "Mother of Blues," with Boseman as Levee Green, her trumpet player. This would be the actor's final role before his death.
With Davis claiming her role in Get On Up, a non-leading part, as the one she considers her favorite throughout her career, this only shows the strength of her bond with Boseman and how much the late actor had impacted her. Davis has had many triumphs and struggles throughout her career, such as criticism of Davis's physical appearance before taking the starring role in How to Get Away With Murder. But through it all, Viola Davis treasures her work with Boseman the most, singling out their time together as a moment that she will cherish for the rest of her life.
Source: The Guardian