Viola Davis’s Best Roles

By Rachel West. 9 Sep 2022 9:00 AM

Viola Davis heads to TIFF with “The Woman King”, based on the true story of the all-female military regiment charged with protecting the embattled African Kingdom of Dahomey. In celebration of Davis’s new film, we’re taking a look back at the Oscar winner’s best roles.

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‘Doubt’
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In only eight minutes of screen time, Davis is a desperate working mother of a young boy who has potentially been molested by a Catholic priest. In just one scene, the actress runs an impressive gamut of emotions that showcases how powerful a mother’s love for her son can be, even in the darkest of times. The role earned Davis her first Oscar nomination.
‘Widows’
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As the tough Veronica in Steve McQueen’s heist thriller “Widows”, Davis takes charge of a group of widows out for revenge on their thieving husbands’ murders. Making some extra cash along the way, the no-nonsense Veronica is supporting by a powerhouse ensemble, including Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Erivo, Elizabeth Debicki, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Bryan Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, and Liam Neeson. It’s a thrill ride from beginning to end, with Davis in full control.
‘The Help’
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Octavia Spencer’s Minnie may have got the laughs in “The Help”, but Davis’s Oscar-nominated and Screen Actors’ Guild-winning performance as maid Aibileen Clark is one of understated heartbreak and restraint as she reveals her experiences as a mother. Though it may not have aged well in the decade-plus since its release, “The Help” was Davis’s biggest role at the time, giving Hollywood just a taste of what she can do.
‘Get On Up’
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Before appearing together in what would be his final role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman’s undeniable chemistry lights up the screen in “Get On Up”. Playing the absent mother to Boseman’s James Brown, the film explores the damaged and damaging relationship between a mother and the Godfather of Soul. In the film, which is told through flashbacks, Davis plays her as a desperate mother who made controversial, life-altering decisions, which gives audiences a chance to see her as a struggling human being.
‘How To Get Away With Murder’
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Annalise Keating wasn’t Viola Davis’s first foray into television, but it certainly was a juicy role that gave her something to sink her teeth into, becoming the first Black woman to win the Emmy for Best Actress In A Drama Series. Annalise was different than the women Davis had played in the past. Morally ambiguous, cutthroat, and endlessly meme-able, Davis's Annalise kept Shonda Rhimes’ TV drama interesting and entertaining.
‘Prisoners’
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Davis doesn’t need a lot of screen time to have her presence felt. As Nancy, the distraught mother of a missing child in Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners”, Davis gives a performance full of both guilt and empathy that comes off as a masterclass in acting.
‘Fences’
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Davis took on the role of Rose, the long-suffering wife of the selfish Troy in both the Broadway run of August Wilson’s “Fences” in 2010 and its big-screen version in 2016. Bottled up emotion and anguish eventually come spilling out of Rose, with Davis delivering a performance that would earn her a second Tony Award for her stage work, and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’
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Davis earned her sixth Oscar nomination for her performance as jazz singer Ma Rainey, a Black female musician who found fame working in a predominantly white society in the 1920s. Brought to life by an incredible hair and makeup transformation into the larger-than-life singer, Davis is electric alongside the late Chadwick Boseman in his final performance.

Viola Davis’s Best Roles

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