--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've had to sink my teeth into a role…" description: "\"I've had to sink my teeth into a role that was probably a fried-chicken dinner and make it into a filet mignon.\" — Viola Davis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/viola-davis-1174_dinner_i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-th_1935585.png" --- # I've had to sink my teeth into a role that was probably a… ![“I've had to sink my teeth into a role that was probably a fried-chicken dinner and make it into a filet mignon.” quote by Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/viola-davis-1174_dinner_i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-th_1935585.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/viola-davis-1174_dinner_i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-th_1935585.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/viola-davis-1174_dinner_i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-th_1935585.png) > “I've had to sink my teeth into a role that was probably a fried-chicken dinner and make it into a filet mignon.” [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She turned a low‑status job into a high‑quality performance through effort and skill. **In simple terms:** Turn a basic role into something excellent. Key Takeaway Elevate any task with dedication. Themes hard work skill transformation Mood determined optimistic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career advancement - culinary arts - acting - project management Key Concepts career growth excellence creativity Questions to Reflect On - How can you add value to a modest role? - What skills turn ordinary work into extraordinary? A Different Perspective Success depends on resources and opportunities, not just effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chicken Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicken-dinner-2285770/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fried/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Probably Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably-fried-3054692/) [Role](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role/) [Role Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-probably-2677671/) [Sink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sink/) [Sink Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sink-teeth-1036930/) [Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth/) ## Related quotes > [Give me meaty roles, and I'll sink my teeth into them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rishi-kapoor/give-me-meaty-roles-and-i-ll-sink-my-teeth-into-them/) [Rishi Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rishi-kapoor/) > [An actor always wants to sink his teeth into something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aden-young/an-actor-always-wants-to-sink-his-teeth-into-something/) [Aden Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aden-young/) > [My first lead role was probably 'Party Girl' in 1994.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-posey/my-first-lead-role-was-probably-party-girl-in-1994/) [Parker Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-posey/) > [If the sociologist has a role, it is probably more to furnish weapons than to give lessons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bourdieu/if-the-sociologist-has-a-role-it-is-probably-more-to-furnish-weapons/) [Pierre Bourdieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bourdieu/) > [A dream role is a role that you can't even picture for yourself. Everything I've ever played I never pictured I would get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-addai-robinson/a-dream-role-is-a-role-that-you-can-t-even-picture-for-yourself/) [Cynthia Addai-Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-addai-robinson/) > [Protein is important and hard for me to get in a hurry. We're busy. I don't always remember to thaw the chicken for dinner.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-sanders/protein-is-important-and-hard-for-me-to-get-in-a-hurry-we-re-busy-i/) [Summer Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-sanders/) > [“She held up the arrow again and threatened the bird. "You do anything, ignite a single spark, and I'm having Kentucky Fried Chicken for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanda-hahn/she-held-up-the-arrow-again-and-threatened-the-bird-you-do-anything/) [Chanda Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanda-hahn/) > [“Is there anything sadder than the scrawniest little piece of uneaten chicken at a dinner party?” “Hmm,” said Jules. “Yes. The Holocaust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/is-there-anything-sadder-than-the-scrawniest-little-piece-of-uneaten/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [If you had chicken at lunch and chicken at dinner, do you ever wonder if the two chickens knew each other?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/if-you-had-chicken-at-lunch-and-chicken-at-dinner-do-you-ever-wonder/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“My brother told me to pick him a winner. So I dug up my nose, And pulled out a chicken dinner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-bialko/my-brother-told-me-to-pick-him-a-winner-so-i-dug-up-my-nose-and/) [Drew Bialko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-bialko/) > [Even when I get the fried-chicken special of the day, I have to dig into it like it’s filet mignon,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/even-when-i-get-the-fried-chicken-special-of-the-day-i-have-to-dig/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [“I just want a relationship I can finally sink my teeth into”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-schreiber/i-just-want-a-relationship-i-can-finally-sink-my-teeth-into/) [Ellen Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-schreiber/) > [It's interesting to fantasize having a man sink his teeth into your neck for sustenance, knowing that it isn't going to be terribly painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-langella/it-s-interesting-to-fantasize-having-a-man-sink-his-teeth-into-your/) [Frank Langella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-langella/) > [Most actors want to sink their teeth into amazing material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-chriqui/most-actors-want-to-sink-their-teeth-into-amazing-material/) [Emmanuelle Chriqui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-chriqui/) > [I want a relationship I can finally sink my teeth into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-schreiber/i-want-a-relationship-i-can-finally-sink-my-teeth-into/) [Ellen Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-schreiber/) ## More by Viola Davis > [I look back at pictures of myself and I remember thinking, "I was so fat when I was growing up. I was 165 pounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-look-back-at-pictures-of-myself-and-i-remember-thinking-i-was-so/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I am not a glam woman - this definitely is a mask I put on for the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-am-not-a-glam-woman-this-definitely-is-a-mask-i-put-on-for-the/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-was-bullied-at-school-the-black-girl-in-central-falls-rhode-island/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [That's why there's so much bad acting out there, because you could see actors watching themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/that-s-why-there-s-so-much-bad-acting-out-there-because-you-could-see/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I want my work to reflect my level of gifts and talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-want-my-work-to-reflect-my-level-of-gifts-and-talent/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I don’t want anyone putting any limits on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-don-t-want-anyone-putting-any-limits-on-me/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-think-that-s-why-august-wilson-named-her-rose-in-fences-i-really-do/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/when-you-re-working-as-an-actor-you-don-t-think-that-when-you-get-out/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-suffered-from-low-self-esteem-for-much-of-my-life-and-now-to-feel/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I tell my daughter every morning, 'Now, what are the two most important parts of you?' And she says, 'My head and my heart.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-tell-my-daughter-every-morning-now-what-are-the-two-most-important/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I started a production company out of necessity, the need for great narratives for actors of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-started-a-production-company-out-of-necessity-the-need-for-great/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [That's always the biggest surprise when people meet me: how buoyant I am and how fun and light I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/that-s-always-the-biggest-surprise-when-people-meet-me-how-buoyant-i/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/when-you-re-working-as-an-actor-you-don-t-think-that-when-you-get-out-2/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [ It was hard, that confrontation scene \[in "Fences"\], that was a hard one. I felt like it was relentless, I never felt like I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/it-was-hard-that-confrontation-scene-in-fences-that-was-a-hard-one-i/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I am addicted to any facial product that's anti-aging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-am-addicted-to-any-facial-product-that-s-anti-aging/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) [Explore all 279 Viola Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) ## More Dinner quotes > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [My dinners have never interfered with my business. They have been my recreation. . . A public banquet, if eaten with thought and care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/my-dinners-have-never-interfered-with-my-business-they-have-been-my/) [Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [“We just went out for dinner. We didn't participate in a Roman orgy, I swear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-dahl/we-just-went-out-for-dinner-we-didn-t-participate-in-a-roman-orgy-i/) [Victoria Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-dahl/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Sonny Von Bulow, who said to her husband Claus on their honeymoon, Stop needling me. Never got a dinner!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/sonny-von-bulow-who-said-to-her-husband-claus-on-their-honeymoon-stop/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [Remember, sex is like a Chinese dinner. It ain't over 'til you both get your cookie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/remember-sex-is-like-a-chinese-dinner-it-ain-t-over-til-you-both-get/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [I have no social life. There is no time for one. Once in a while I may go to dinner with a friend but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-halliday/i-have-no-social-life-there-is-no-time-for-one-once-in-a-while-i-may/) [Liz Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-halliday/) > [I'm not a person who would get up at 5 A.M. to write, but I could sacrifice my Friday night and just order in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-weisberger/i-m-not-a-person-who-would-get-up-at-5-a-m-to-write-but-i-could/) [Lauren Weisberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-weisberger/) > [Challenging is good, like good conversation, yes? Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [I like to be bought flowers and taken out for dinner. I like a man to be a gentleman. I don't like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-like-to-be-bought-flowers-and-taken-out-for-dinner-i-like-a-man-to/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [Why should the Marquis de Cussy wage war on soup? I cannot understand a dinner without it. I hold soup to be the well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/why-should-the-marquis-de-cussy-wage-war-on-soup-i-cannot-understand/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. Helvetica is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/helvetica-is-the-jeans-and-univers-the-dinner-jacket-helvetica-is/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) [Browse all 2,901 Dinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've had to sink my teeth into a role that was probably a fried-chicken dinner and make it into a filet mignon.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Viola Davis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-that-was-probably-a-fried/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dinner" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-that-was-probably-a-fried/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/viola-davis-1174_dinner_i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-th_1935585.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/viola-davis-1174_dinner_i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-th_1935585.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/viola-davis-1174_dinner_i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-th_1935585.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've had to sink my teeth into a role that was probably a fried-chicken dinner and make it into a filet…” — Viola Davis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Viola Davis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've had to sink my teeth...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-that-was-probably-a-fried/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-ve-had-to-sink-my-teeth-into-a-role-that-was-probably-a-fried/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```