viola davis – The Last Good Bar

kissawayfromkillin:

“I look at the way the film begins with me in bed with Liam Neeson. We’re kissing and it’s a sexualized kiss. An here I am, I am dark. I’m 53, I’m in my natural hair. And I’m with Liam Neeson. I’m with what America would consider to be a hunk. And he’s not my slave owner, I’m not a prostitute. It’s not trying to make any social or political statements. We simply are a couple in love and what struck me about that in the narrative is that I’ve never seen it before. You’re not going to see it this year, you’re not going to see it next year, you’re not going to see it the year after that. And most people who look at it, most critics, most cinephiles will probably not even acknowledge that as anything novel. They’ll say ‘okay, so what, it’s not making a political statement’. So if it’s not making anything then why isn’t it done? If we’re indeed committed to inclusion and diversity and we actually do see people of colour as the same as us, as our counterparts. Then why can’t you consider a character that maybe is not ethnically specific, why can’t you consider someone like me for it? If it’s not a big deal, why hasn’t it been done? You know, and sometimes I feel like the biggest political statements are the simplest.
I would say that the biggest thing in my life at 53 is having the courage to live authentically, and that has very little to do with my status, and has more to do with my internal courage and understanding my worth, my value as a human being.”

Viola Davis on how she has stayed grounded in Hollywood and why there still aren’t enough black actors on screen

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