Viola Davis says Chadwick Boseman was 'a beautiful man and a great artist'

Viola Davis recently opened up about playing the role of Ma Rainy in the film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom alongside Chadwick Boseman during her cover interview for InStyle's December issue. She also spoke about pay equity and her goal of changing "the landscape for people who have been marginalized" in Hollywood.Davis plays the "Mother of Blues" who was one of the first blues artists to record her work in the film adaptation of August Wilson’s 1984 play. Boseman plays a trumpeter named Levee and it was the actor's final role before his death earlier this year. He died of colon cancer at age 43 in August after keeping his diagnosis private for four years.When asked what attracted her to the role of Ma Rainey, Davis said that it the challenge because she didn't feel she could play the character. "But she also really reminds me of the women I grew up with, all my aunties and relatives, the people who were bigger in stature whom I saw as so beautiful," Davis added. "They never questioned their worth. They had the full makeup, the earrings, the Afros, the wide-leg pants. In white American culture, the idea of classic beauty and confidence has always been associated with extreme thinness, but not in my culture." When talking about her time working with Boseman, Davis said that he was "a beautiful man and a great artist." She referred to what Insecure actress Issa Rae had said after Boseman's passing: "He was ours as African-Americans." Davis said that the Black Panther star had "a quality that very few have today, whether young or old, which is total commitment to the art form of acting." She mentioned that Boseman had been with the same agent throughout his entire career and he did not like the "celebrity treatment.""He hated that. He really did," she said before reflecting on a discussion the pair had in which Boseman told her he didn't mind the long hours of work that came with his acting career but "the other stuff exhausts me," referring to the celebrity aspect of it all. Davis said that she makes sure to separate herself as an artist from her public persona.The How to Get Away with Murder star said that her new "precious and fluffy" puppy, Bailey, is "healing my broken, cold heart." (Pictures please!)Davis spoke about how there needs to be equal treatment in Hollywood. She said that she tells her agents, manager and publicists that she wants and expects "the same filet mignon that white actresses get. Cooked at the exact temperature. You cannot throw me a bone with a really nice little piece of meat still on it and expect that’s good enough for me."

 

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The incomparable Viola Davis graces our December cover! “I want and I expect to get the same filet mignon that white actresses get. Cooked at the exact temperature. You cannot throw me a bone with a really nice little piece of meat still on it and expect that’s good enough for me.” The acting great shares her thoughts on community, humanity, and where we go from here in the #linkinbio. Photographed by: @abdmstudio Written by @laurabrown99 Styled by: @elizabethstewart1 Hair by: @jamikawilson Makeup by @sergiowastaken Manicure by: @christinaviles

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She reflected on her interview with journalist Tina Brown for the Women in the World Salon event in February 2018 where she spoke about being underpaid and overlooked throughout her career. At the time Davis said, “People say, ‘You’re a black Meryl Streep … We love you. There is no one like you. OK, then if there’s no one like me, you think I’m that you pay me what I’m worth.”The 55-year-old actress said that as a woman of colour "you think, 'I'm just like everybody else.' Because that's what you believe." She said that it's only until you reach a certain level of expectation when you realize "you are not like everyone else" when it comes to pay equality. Davis said that actresses don't normally "share their salary with each other while they're sitting around drinking a glass of wine," adding that ego is a huge part of that because they don't want people to know that others make less than what they make. "Another part of it is etiquette," she added.[video_embed id='1765375']RELATED: Viola Davis cast as Michelle Obama[/video_embed]"There should be solidarity with everyone. Solidarity with Caucasian women and women of colour. Michelle Williams, of course, put it beautifully. The differences in pay and the lack of access to opportunities are huge," Davis said, adding that she expects changes and that if the industry doesn't move forward together, it won't move forward at all.Davis revealed that she is working on a few new projects with her husband Julius Tennon and the production company they have, JuVee Productions. She said they are trying to "change the landscape for people who have been marginalized in the business for so long." She said she's working with emerging artists and writers who write "complicated roles for ladies, for people of colour, for Asians, for Hispanics."

 

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InStyle Magazine December 2020

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Davis said the next project she's working on is First Ladies for Showtime, which is a series that profiles Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama. She's also working on The Woman King, which is a story of the Dahomey Ahosi tribe in West Africa, a group of female warriors that existed in the 19th century. Davis said that people always say, "there are so many genres that Black people haven't done" and she feels that."I’ve always wanted a Black female Braveheart. I’ve always wanted to kick somebody’s ass and do an accent," Davis added. Yesss, we would love to see that too![video_embed id='2071184']BEFORE YOU GO: Baby gets excited when he recognizes his grandmother on TV[/video_embed]