Although she garnered an Oscar nomination for her role in The Help, Viola Davis says that her portrayal of Abileen Clark was one of the roles she regrets taking.
During an interview at the Toronto Film Festival on Tuesday (Sept. 11), Davis divulged on why she regrets playing the character, stating that she doesn’t think the role provided a “voice” for the women helmed as ‘the help.’
“Have I ever done roles that I’ve regretted? I have, and The Help is on that list,” she told The New York Times after answering questions submitted by the publication’s readers. “I just felt that at the end of the day that it wasn’t the voices of the maids that were heard. I know Aibileen. I know Minny. They’re my grandma. They’re my mom. And I know that if you do a movie where the whole premise is, I want to know what it feels like to work for white people and to bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie.”
However, she said that she hopes to continue choosing roles that shine a positive light on women of color.
“Being that role model and picking up that baton when you’re struggling in your own life has been difficult… [but] I choose to be the leader.”
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