You know what I mean by MVP, right? There are others who will get the label ‘best dressed’ (though for me, this yellow column came very close. Davis always does colours but this was the best and it’s only January!) and there are others who were arguably ‘bigger’ winners, but Viola made the whole night come together. I was so happy to watch her every second she was onscreen.
Her win was well-deserved and exciting, but of course it paled in comparison to that gorgeous, personal, lovely introduction of Meryl Streep. My favourite part was her husband haranguing her to tell Meryl what she meant to her:
“Did you tell her?”
“Julius, I’ll do it tomorrow!”
And then saying that Meryl was the one who taught her that “My face, my body, my age is enough.” That’s when I realized that unlike people who try not to cry by smiling, or blinking upward, that Viola Davis and I try not to cry in the same way – a big chin-jut forward. It lets you swallow harder, I think.
So. Understanding that How To Get Away With Murder is a great show but in no way explores all of Viola Davis’ talents…is it me, or do you sense a particular kinship between these two? One we haven’t seen before? Put more plainly…do you feel like if Viola Davis hadn’t met Meryl Streep she might never have met someone who was her professional equal, talent-wise? Do you feel like if Meryl Streep hadn’t met Viola Davis she might never have met someone who was her talent equal?
Here’s video of Viola backstage in the press room, in response to a question about the next President of the United States:
