She has been working steadily on stage and screen for more than two decades, but it was not until her early 40s that Viola Davis started to receive widespread attention.
This was thanks in no small part to a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for the 2008 film Doubt, alongside fellow nominees Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.
Her success has continued, with movies including The Help, Get On Up and Suicide Squad, plus a starring role in the hit TV show How To Get Away With Murder, which was last week renewed for a fourth season.
This week she stars in Fences, directed by and co-starring Denzel Washington, a big-screen adaptation of a play about Troy Maxson, a Pittsburgh binman whose bitterness slowly tears his family apart.
Davis plays Rose, the long-suffering wife desperately trying to hold things together.
She first played the role on stage in 2010 as part of a sell-out Broadway production, for which she won a Tony.
Many actors would be wary of returning to the same part years later, but Davis had no hesitation.
“It’s a wonderful character to play,” she says. “The things she sacrifices, personally, during the film become a very powerful symbol of the role of women, particularly at that time.
“A lot of the themes that surround Rose’s journey in this story are still true for a lot of women to this day. It’s rare to come across a character so complete.”
The film has been lauded for its authenticity, which Davis puts down to the fact it was shot in Pittsburgh.
“This was the neighbourhood these characters existed in, this was the place this story, and so many like it, came from,” she says. “There were people living there that could have been [Rose’s] neighbours years ago. Filming there gave us the authenticity we needed to do these characters justice.”
It is hard to believe she could be unsatisfied with her stage performance, which won her so much acclaim, but the move from stage to filming on location allowed her to make some changes.
“There were little things [about my performance] in the play that I wanted to put right in this film,” she says with a slight wince.
“Part of it came from becoming a mother, and seeing a greater perspective. But it also came from being in such an immersive environment. You couldn’t help but be inspired.”
Another inspiration was Denzel Washington, who was directing a film for the first time since 2007's The Great Debaters. They previously worked together in his directorial debut, Antwone Fisher, in 2002.
“There’s a lot of trust between us,” says Davis.
“He would allow me to take Rose wherever I felt she needed to go, but at the same time would have no qualms about telling me what was on his mind.”
Davis found fame relatively late in life and while things are perhaps improving, slowly, it is still the case that quality roles for women over 40 are fairly thin on the ground – yet the 51-year-old is busier than ever.
She credits the experience she has gained with age as exactly what she believes set her apart.
“I attribute [success] to growing as a person, learning about what I have to offer as an artist,” she says.
“Then there’s the many generous actors and filmmakers who have given me the chance to play those characters in a way that felt right to me, and the writers who created them. “We’ve also seen a change in the industry, with a greater diversity of roles.”
Fences is nominated for four Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress for Davis, who has already won a Golden Globe and Bafta for her performance.
While remaining diplomatic about how she feels about awards, she betrays her excitement with a wide grin.
“They’re great. It’s wonderful to be recognised by your peers, it really is,” she says.
“I try not to focus on it too much because it’s beyond my control, but any recognition I get is also a reflection of this beautiful character, August Wilson’s script, and Denzel’s direction.”
With How To Get Away With Murder going strong, the awards success is likely to mean she is even more in demand for film roles – not that Davis is complaining about hard work.
“I feel blessed to have had the journey I’ve said this far, and to have had the experience as a person to appreciate it,” she says.
• Fences is in cinemas from Thursday, February 16
artslife@thenational.ae
Results
2pm: Serve U – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Violent Justice, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
2.30pm: Al Shafar Investment – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Desert Wisdom, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ahmed Al Shemaili
3pm: Commercial Bank of Dubai – Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Fawaareq, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
3.30pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
4pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Rakeez, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
4.30pm: Al Redha Insurance Brokers – Handicap (TB) Dh78,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Capla Crusader, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
The%20specs
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
The%20specs
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
Europa League group stage draw
Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague.
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu.
Group C: Sporting Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna , Rijeka, AEK Athens.
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol.
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, FC Zlin.
Group G: Vitoria Plzen, Steaua Bucarest, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano.
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade.
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor.
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund.
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem.
Group L: Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
More on animal trafficking
