Viola Davis is promoting her new film at the Tribeca Film Festival, Custody, in which she plays a New York Family Court judge presiding over the case of a single mom, Sara Diaz, trying to regain custody of her sons. Hayden Panettiere co-stars as Diaz’s lawyer, and Diaz is played by Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace). Viola has been giving interviews and she’s just as plainspoken and incredible as we’ve come to expect from her. I always come away from her interviews grateful for the fact that someone is telling it like it is. In fact she’s said so many awesome things lately I’m having a hard time picking just what to include. I’ll do my best though.
On Mom guilt
When you have a child, you want to be a perfect mother. You feel like you have the absolute plan to be a perfect mother — and then you make a mistake, and we all make mistakes. We all at some point lock our kid in a car by accident or lose our kid in the mall for 30 seconds or more. I know one girl who’s a fantastic mother, [but] she lost her daughter in an aquarium for 30 minutes. You have those moments: exhaustion, the stress of having an exuberant child, and you don’t want to be judged by your worst mistakes.On how her character is more in depth than typical characters of color
I thought it was interesting to explore that character’s personal life in this movie. But the thing that frightens me about what I just said is that I don’t think most people notice when those details are missing in movies, especially when it’s women of color. I think that people are happy with us just being a device to move along the story to the Caucasian lead. That’s not what happens here.On if diversity in film is improving
But the whole diversity issue, something becomes a hashtag, so all of a sudden it becomes important. It’s always been important. When have people of color and different nationalities, when have we ever not been here? You’re just catching up to it now. It’s different because people of color in front of the camera and behind it are fighting for it now. They are not afraid of their voices and they are not satisfied with being superfluous. But my hope for the future is that Hollywood doesn’t just greenlight all the films dealing with diversity, even if they’re bad, because now it’s popular.On the marginalization of woman and minorities in film
I’m a woman of color. I’m a woman. There’s so many people who are disenfranchised, who are put in a classical narrative and then just as a device, a stereotype, and it becomes a reflection of our mindset of how we don’t want to explore them as human beings.The Advocate asked her if she had a message for LGBT families
I’m fighting for you. I believe in you. I think that I’m just as outraged as you are. I think you’re worthy of every right that ever human being in this country, in this world, has been afforded.James [Lapine, the scriptwriter] didn’t do that. Every life is explored. So by the time you finish this story, you see the full scope of this issue of this woman literally losing her child, and it’s impossible for you to make a judgment.
[From The NY Times, People and The Advocate]
In her NY Times interview, Viola also talked about doing Suicide Squad. She said it was a lot of fun and that it makes her “feel like a rock star” when she gets recognized by fans. She added that doing the film “Made me feel how I felt when I was a kid and first fell in love with acting.” Oh and Viola also worked with her husband of 13 years, Julius Tennon, on Custody. They produced it together through their production company, JuVee Productions, and he plays a court officer. She told InStyle that she had fun with him on set just “Laughing, eating in our trailer together.” That’s always the impression that I’ve had of them in red carpet interviews, that they’re just having a good time.
I have a hard time covering Viola because other than gushing about her I don’t know what to say except that she always gets it right. She phrases things in such a powerful, affecting way and I can relate to so much of what she says – especially the mom guilt. I’ve had so many moments of that. I want to add that Viola’s costar Catalina Sandino Moreno gave a lot of great quotes to the NY Times too, I just cut them for time. Now I want to watch this film.
Photos credit: Pacific Coast News, Getty and WENN.com
That gorgeous, glowing complexion. What a breathtaking beauty Viola Davis is.
She such a strong, beautiful, talented, intelligent woman.
I love her. There’s no other way to put it really…she’s that amazing
I think she sounds so good because she’s direct, answers questions fully, and it’s blindingly clear what she says is what she thinks, without having been filtered through the bizarre PR acceptability equivocation that most of the others use. There aren’t many like her and I wish there were more. Go Viola.
I once lost Sixlet Minor in the middle of London Zoo. And I once sent Sixlet Major (a repeat malingering offender, but even so…) to school while suffering from slapped cheek and was scolded by the disapproving school nurse when summoned to collect him.
My mother took the 2 older kids out of the house to go somewhere and left baby me waiting bundled up on the bed … at least I didn’t roll over and hit the floor before she did a head count and came back for me. My mother still chuckles about that story.
I once backed the car out of the driveway with the rear car door open. My preschooler, uh, called it to my attention. At least she was strapped into her car seat.
I feel for any younger mothers who feel pressured to fulfill this role to perfection. It’s impossible.
Now that I have four I’m constantly doing a headcount! Love hearing that I’m not the only one.
@size does matter, I was one of seven and honestly I don’t know how my mom didn’t lose at least one or two of us growing up. I only have three and its a struggle to keep them all herded together when shopping and what not. Someone is always trying to wander off and touch things lol
My mom once threatened to “run away from home” because my sister and I wouldn’t eat our peas at dinner. She had a rough day and she was at her wits end with us so when we just laughed at her threat, she walked out of the front door. Years later I asked where she she went and she said she just needed to walk around the block to cool off. LOL!
I love how, when she discusses an issue such as diversity, she addresses t so fully. It’s not a soundbite or some flip comment. When she speaks she does so with compassion, gives examples, explains her rationale…it’s not just opinion. I love her.
And not to detract from her amazing intelligence but DAMN she has some nice arms!
+1000
I could listen to her all day. I love intelligent people who are down to earth and full of wisdom. She is direct without being mean, explains her POV honestly without being patronizing.
Oh and it’s always great to hear someone with honest love and respect for her craft. She totally sold me on the movie!
I think with Viola you can just tell that she’s intelligent, knowledgeable, and passionate the issues she discusses in interviews. She knows what’s right and how to express it, and I’m so glad that she is in the spotlight now to share it.
She is so beautiful and talented, I absolutely love her.
She is the one celebrity who always, always, always makes total sense, and her responses on subjects are well-reasoned and always balanced and insightful. My admiration of her grows more and more with every interview she gives. This is my favorite interview with her so far. Whereas, lately with most actors or actresses, they should give less interviews in my mind, she should give more.
I cosign with everything everybody said. I mean English is not my first language and such but i do understand her not like some other snowflakes who are so afraid to speak up, to offend someone and such. She is smart, mature, beautiful, sexy and full of energy. I just want to know where was she before The Help and other stuff i have seen her????
Love her.
She’s amazing. She’s well spoken and talks about real, pressing issues without making it sound like she’s whining. She’s great.
About mom guilt – I don’t have kids, and I don’t think too much about having kids because I’m an overthinker. And if I have a kid, I’m going to torture myself – I just know it. And, while my mom was a working mother, she also made herself very present in our lives throughout. So, I never asked her about mom guilt, but I Just might.
So, I am still on the fence about having kids, and just wanted to add my two cents to the conversation.
Oh, please don’t torture yourself … and please know you’ll be too busy responding in the moment to think much, let alone overthink!
Mom guilt seems like the creation of the patriarchy whose goal seems to be to get women to work less, in fact work not enough hours to get paid benefits. We have this very strange culture that purports to venerate mothers while providing as little child-rearing support as possible and blaming mothers for anything that goes wrong. It’s not healthy or balanced for anyone.
Maybe this is because I’m older and see motherhood as a role, not a job. I don’t see any reason for guilt if you’re doing your best with what you have, your child is reasonably happy and reasonably healthy and on the path toward maturity moving at a reasonable pace. I had to tune out a lot of things during my active mothering years; I didn’t want to change my approach to make some other woman feel better about HER choices. I just had to feel good about mine. I did notice that no matter what a woman did, someone had a problem with it. So obviously there was no right or wrong — the culture just seemed to have it in for women.
Thanks @who are these people? , that’s a nice and refreshing perspective on things… I’ve raised nephews at home, as if they were mine although I know it’s not the same. But now that my age is nearing that critical stage of life (just turned 30), I’ve been having some thoughts about it, again.
Considering I am single now.
I love kids, but I wonder if I’m not getting too old to muster the patience to deal with their shenanigans ahahaha.
Mimz, hats off for raising children period no matter what the relation you’re still watching, guiding, feeding, cleaning, loving, all the same work and care. You did that!
Seems like you have the best information possible because you already did the job, you already know what’s involved, and you already know how you might handle it.
Some people are like, “Been there, done that” and others are like, “Been there, I’d do it all again.” If you’re single, it depends on how well you could line up and secure every last damn resource that you have because it’s impossible to do it alone and kids have other priorities than the health of our careers. There doesn’t have to be guilt but there can and will be a lot of conflicts to resolve.
As for patience, eh. I bet if you surveyed mothers, 99% of us would say, “I wish I were more patient with my kids.”
But it’s totally your call and there really are so many ways to be involved with children in a world full of need.
Perfection walking
I love Viola. She is always intelligent and present. I get excited when I find her interviews or she appears on talk shows. She never seems hyper managed or as if she’s going for the hashtags.
She’s right about motherhood. I once turned my back at a pool party and my son slipped off the stairs where he was sitting watching the others play, he panicked and forgot his lessons to flip on his back. My stepson saved him before I could even react but I felt horrible. Then I thought about what could have happened and felt tremendous guilt.
I know I’m a loving mother but I felt like an irresponsible jerk.
Go easy on yourself. He’s okay, your stepson was there, and kids seem to plan these things for that one instant we turn around to get something cold to drink.
My daughter recently commented that I didn’t go swimming a lot when she was little. When I explained it was because I was instead WATCHING HER to be sure she was SAFE, her eyes got really big. Oh! Guess so! Didn’t see it that way! Kid perspective VS parent perspective.
I love this woman.
I’m just here to honk for more Viola. I love her! And this Interview is part and parcel of why.
She’s awesome!
Just simply adore her. I can’t really relate to the mom guilt but occasionally I have some regret over not having a child. I’m in my early 40s but decided not to earlier in life because I was not at all ready, not mature or responsible enough.
When I was a kid I got lost in an aquarium. My poor mum, I was always wandering off and frequently came back with a snakes and lizards I had caught, which made it even worse because poor mum had a snake phobia.