Viola Davis received a critical career boost when she decided to star in The Help. A movie based on racism, The Help was a commercial success. Having a star-studded cast, the period drama went on to earn multiple Academy Awards nominations.
However, Viola Davis, despite the praise she received, regretted ever doing the movie. The reason was that she felt the movie was made to be catered to the white audience instead of showing the plight of people of color.
Why Viola Davis Regrets Starring In $216M Movie
The Help focused on a young aspiring white woman played by Emma Stone, trying to make her career in journalism. While on her way to fight the generally male-dominated field, she writes a book based on the experiences of Black maids serving white families with the help of two Black maids. The movie was released in 2011 and performed better than expected, earning a total of $216 million worldwide.
The Help helped Viola Davis, who played ne of the two maids helping Stone’s character, climb new heights in her career including getting her second Oscar nomination. However, the movie focused on the controversial white-savior perspective, which many disliked and pointed out.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Viola pointed out,
“They’re invested in the idea of what it means to be Black, but…it’s catering to the white audience. The white audience at the most can sit and get an academic lesson into how we are. Then they leave the movie theater and they talk about what it meant. They’re not moved by who we were.”
Expressing her regret over starring in the film, the Air actress said,
“There’s no one who’s not entertained by The Help. But there’s a part of me that feels like I betrayed myself, and my people, because I was in a movie that wasn’t ready to [tell the whole truth],”
While the movie did put her in the spotlight, she alleges that it didn’t help her get roles that were at par with the white actresses.
Viola Davis On How The Help ‘Helped’ Her Career
Viola Davis, being as magnificent as she is, did a terrific job in the Emma Stone starrer The Help. Her portrayal truly transported us to the dark times of American history filled with racism and prejudice. Despite her regret over doing the film, she did accept that The Help helped raise her status as an actress.
But the raise did not imply that she was getting the roles she would wish to do. When people would ask her why did she continue to do television when she could have successfully pursued a movie career after The Help, the actress retorts,
“I always ask them, What movies? What were those movies? Listen, I got Widows but if I just relied on the Hollywood pipeline…. No, there are not those roles.”
In the face of all challenges, Viola Davis did better than the best in all of the roles she decided to undertake.
You can stream The Help on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Vanity Fair
