I think sometimes what people miss about black people is that we're complicated. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
When you grow up in abject poverty, you see people exactly the way they are. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
It's time for people to see us, people of colour, for what we really are: complicated. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
When you pray, God puts people in your life to lead you when you cannot lead yourself. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
Ultimately, it's not your job, as an actress, to satisfy people's expectations or image of who you should be. Even in your… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
That's always the biggest surprise when people meet me: how buoyant I am and how fun and light I am. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
Actor is just a strange profession, it really is, that you could be in front of the same people for years, and… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
All you really need to do is shift people just a tiny bit for change to happen. It doesn't have to be… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
When people come into the theater, whether it's the screen or the stage, they've gotta be transported and transformed. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
And this is what was fascinating to me about 'The Help'; they were ordinary people who did extraordinary things. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I think that you always want to gravitate towards people who absolutely are great at what they do and go for authenticity. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I sort of feel like that's the most revolutionary thing we can do with our narrative for me as Black people is… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
No matter what, people don't think of me for glamorous parts. I'll go to an audition or a meeting in a pretty… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
The world is very good at encouraging you to go along with the status quo and at basking in your successes. But… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
People often forget our emotional contribution to relationships and to marriage and that might be a completely sexist comment but, what I… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
Ordinary people who are just kind of just going about their lives are transformed into heroes because they have the courage to… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
There's a big difference in doing a play or doing any project that not a lot of people see and then a… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
You have to understand being an actress, and being an African American actress of a certain hue, I think that you have… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
The more I'm pushed in a position of leadership and I know I have to be the mouthpiece for so many other… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I think that's something that people feel that I do really well; I don't mind it, because ultimately I think the characters… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
When you're working as an actor, you don't think that when you get out of school, it's going to be so hard… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
In film, it's up to the director to tell the story in whatever way he sees fit, and however you fit into… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
At the end of the day, nobody can tell you how to tackle failure or how to handle change. The world is… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
The internal sexism within womanhood is very predominant in Hollywood, because we all want to be successful. There's a plug to it:… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
Sometimes people come in as a director, and they just want the result, and they barely want that to tell you the… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
People call me a theater actor, but I'm just an actor. But I tell my friends all the time - especially a… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
Recognition has brought me more work, because your name suddenly comes to mind when some directors are trying to cast a character.… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
People don't understand that when you come into any theatrical experience, you've got to come locked and loaded, that you're a part… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I didn't see myself any different from my white counterparts in school. I just didn't! I thought I could do what they… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
You have to dare to make a choice that may be considered unorthodox in a role, but when you're working as if… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
And that's what people want to see when they go to the theater. I believe at the end of the day, they… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
When you're working as an actor, you don't think that when you get out of school, it's going to be so hard… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
That's why I do what I do, and that's why I wanted to be an actress from the time I was six… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I don't think most people understand acting, even the people who call themselves savvy, even actors. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
It's harder to work with people who are not as dedicated to their craft. It also leaves you a better actor when… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
Do the work. Create the character, don't wing it and don't hope for an award or the Red Carpet. At the end… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
[Denzel Washington] was rustling with something and when he came back it was with a word about loving myself and the body… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
We know the road of lack of recognition, of people telling us that we can't headline a movie because black women don't… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
You can't be perceived as 'the black actress who doesn't get the same kind of roles as the white actress.' You gotta… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I look back at pictures of myself and I remember thinking, "I was so fat when I was growing up. I was 165 pounds… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I am not a glam woman - this definitely is a mask I put on for the public. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I was bullied at school. The black girl in Central Falls, Rhode Island, in 1973. There'd be 8 or 10 boys; I would count… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
That's why there's so much bad acting out there, because you could see actors watching themselves. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I think that's why August [Wilson] named her Rose [in "Fences"]; I really do. She's a rose in her sweetness and her kindness and… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
When you're working as an actor, you don't think that when you get out of school, it's going to be so hard to get… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I suffered from low self-esteem for much of my life. And now to feel like maybe something that I'm projecting or saying could mean… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I tell my daughter every morning, 'Now, what are the two most important parts of you?' And she says, 'My head and my heart.'… — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
I started a production company out of necessity, the need for great narratives for actors of color. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
That's always the biggest surprise when people meet me: how buoyant I am and how fun and light I am. — Viola Davis Copy Share Image
![“People often forget our emotional contribution to relationships and to marriage and that might be a completely sexist comment but, what I tried not to do [in "Fences"] is, I tried to just put that monologue as part of my stream of consciousness.” quote by Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2a5/viola-davis-1174_comment_people-often-forget-our-emotional-contri_1485643.jpg)
![“[Denzel Washington] was rustling with something and when he came back it was with a word about loving myself and the body that I'm in because I was still going on and on about the weight thing. I just liked that, because what people don't understand is that so much of what blocks us as actors is…” quote by Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/567/viola-davis-1174_actors_denzel-washington-was-rustling-with-some_2745558.jpg)
![“I think that's why August [Wilson] named her Rose [in "Fences"]; I really do. She's a rose in her sweetness and her kindness and in everything else, even her anger towards the end.” quote by Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bcf/viola-davis-1174_august_i-think-that-s-why-august-wilson-named-h_157231.jpg)
