“It's always hard to be private in public, which is what acting is because you have to do thing really emotionally naked.” HardActingNaked Author:Viola Davis
“I've been to acting school and I think that at the end of the day, when you just focus on the work and you're comfortable with who you are, that at some point someone's going to recognize your talent and give you an opportunity.” ThinkingGivingEndsSchoolOpportunityActingFocusTalentComfortableWho You AreThe End Of The Day Author:Viola Davis
“I really want my acting to be definitive a lot of times, but I must feel like in any given moment there is a lot of things going on with Rose. I kept telling Denzel [Washington] throughout filming [Fences] that the house is her joy and her tomb.” WantFeelsMomentsJoyHouseGivenActingRoseFenceTombsDenzel Author:Viola Davis
“I have to say, doing theater, that's what you're trained to do. Doing film, when I first started doing it, felt like something else entirely. It felt like the difference between, I don't know, waiting tables and painting a great work of art. It's night and day. I didn't feel like it was even acting.” KnowsFeelsFirstsArtFilmNightFeltWaitingDifferencesActingPaintingTheaterTablesWorks Of ArtGreat WorkLike SomethingWaiting Tables Author:Viola Davis
“That's why there's so much bad acting out there, because you could see actors watching themselves.” ActorsActingActing OutBad Acting Author:Viola Davis
“Acting, it's the disappearance of self, disappearance of your own needs and your own wants and the kind of embracing of the character that makes it work.” WantNeedsKindSelfCharacterActingDisappearance Author:Viola Davis
“If you're a boxer, you want to get the ring with a Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali type. When you're acting, you want to get in with Meryl Streep, and that's what I did.” IfsWantActingTypeRingsMikeMuhammadBoxersTyson Author:Viola Davis
“I don't think most people understand acting, even the people who call themselves savvy, even actors.” PeopleThinkingActorsActingSavvy Author:Viola Davis
“Most actors don't understand acting. I think it's an art form that craft is out the window. I don't think people get it at all, most of the time. Or they get some of it, not all of it. If you get an Academy Award nomination, you think 95 percent of the profession is unemployed at any given time, most people will never even find work as an actor, and the ones who do will probably make $50,000 a year at the most if they're lucky. Some will never do Broadway. Some will never do a major role. And a really, really, really small percentage of them maybe will be nominated for a major award.” PeopleIfsThinkingYearsArtFormActorsGivenActingRolesLuckyMajorsPercentWindowProfessionCraftsAwardsBroadwayPercentagesAcademyUnemployedNominationsAcademy Awards Author:Viola Davis
“And that's what people want to see when they go to the theater. I believe at the end of the day, they want to see themselves - parts of their lives they can recognize. And I feel if I can achieve that, it's pretty spectacular.” PeopleIfsWantFeelsBelieveI CanEndsI BelieveActingAchieveTheaterThe End Of The DaySpectacular Author:Viola Davis
“We grew up in abject poverty. Acting, writing scripts and skits were a way of escaping our environment at a very young age.” WayWritingAgeYoungActingPovertyEnvironmentGrewGrew UpScriptsYoung AgeOur EnvironmentEscapingWriting ScriptsSkit Author:Viola Davis
