Actress Viola Davis is opening up about her trauma and learning the power of forgiveness. Image Source: Page Six
Actress Viola Davis is opening up about her trauma and learning the power of forgiveness in her memoir, 'Finding Me'.
The Tony Award, Academy Award, and Emmy Award winner, Viola Davis, shared with People about her new memoir, "Finding Me," on how she had to keep fighting in her childhood days, listen to people, get bullied by people in order to survive. The actress said that she had to fight to survive, which is why she is here today, in a position to talk about it, make things better for other people. The actress opened up about the physical and emotional abuse her mother, Mae Alice, had to face at the hands of her father, Dan, and how it affected her. She and her oldest sisters also had to survive sexual abuse while growing up.
Viola shared that her father regularly beat his wife, Mae Alice, but before he passed away in 2006 due to pancreatic cancer, he made peace with her mother and the two had stayed husband and wife till the end. The actress added that her mother told her that her father had changed and had apologized to her every single day and Viola explained that people do not understand that forgiveness is not pretty and it can operate on the same plane as anger.
The actress who would be seen in "First Lady" as Mrs. Michelle Obama, shared that she wanted to love her father, and her father loved her, and she could see it, feel it, and receive it. Viola mentioned that she was ready to forgive him because she believes that forgiving someone for something they are apologetic for is much bigger than keeping a grudge for the rest of their lives based on what they did or how they did it.
The actress shared during the cover story interview that her parents struggled to make ends meet for the family. She had endured trauma and heartbreak, which included bullying by boys who threw rocks at her because she was black. She explained that she went through enormous existential crises before she decided to write her memoir and added that she always thought acting defined her life, but it did not.
People in the world tell you that if you find something you're good at and can make money doing, that's it, but the actress adds that it doesn't define you. Just like that, she shared that when she thought about it, she realized that she was trying to hide a huge part of her story, and when she started to go back to them while writing, Viola said it almost felt like she had reinvented herself and had tossed away the things she did not like.
Viola explained that now when she looks at little Viola, all she remembers is the fact that she was strong like a spitfire and decided to write the book in the hope that she could find peace after she revisited the old memories.
Known for her character portrayal as Annalise Keating, Viola Davis is now grateful for every part of her journey and counts all of it as joy. Her experiences in life have taught her to have an extraordinary sense of compassion and reconciliation power that a young girl in her can heal from her past and find a home. She concluded that although she felt terrified after completing her memoir, she also felt great.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, the actress also shared the reaction she received after she was cast as lawyer Annalise Keating in the show "How to Get Away with Murder" and shared that one of her friends mentioned that other black actors were chatting about how she was not pretty enough to pull off the role of Annalise Keating, but she took the job anyway and look at her now!!!
Viola Davis, who is all set to play Michelle Obama in the upcoming political drama "The First Lady", mentioned on Jimmy Kimmel Live that she's glad it’s over because it’s a lot of stress to play a character who is loved by everyone and is known by everyone just by the way she walks or talks. She joked that she has not reached out to the former first lady, Michelle Obama, because she is hiding from her.
Viola Davis's "Finding Me" will be released on April 26th. The First Lady premieres on Sunday on Showtime. It also stars Dakota Fanning as Susan Elizabeth Ford, O-T Fagbenle as Barak Obama, Regina Taylor as Mrs. Obama’s mother, and Judy Greer as Nancy Howe.
