Viola Davis spoke with Andre Leon Talley contributing editor of Vogue for an upcoming issue, below are excerpts from the interview.
On using real-life experience to draw on for her role in the The Help.
“I have stories of being spit on. You have to realize I was in a predominantly white culture … And third grade was the worst because every day after school I would wait at the door and the bell would ring. And as soon as the bell rang I ran as fast as I could from the front door to my house, which was at least a mile away, because I would have eight to nine boys with sticks, bricks, anything they could find, who were ready to kill me.”
On what her mother told her about bullying
“She said, ‘Viola, I want you to take my crochet and needle and you put it in your pocket and if they stop you again you tell them you’re gonna [stab] ‘em.’”
On how her life defined her career
“Having it hard made me build so much character … You have to actually say, ‘Is the world going to define me or am I going to define myself.’”
Image credit Theybf
