VIOLA DAVIS HAS RANGE
Oscar Role Ma Rainey + Playing Michelle Obama
Viola Davis just became the most-nominated Black actress for Best Actress at the Oscars for her role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Her performance as the titular character alongside the late Chadwick Boseman was one of the best of the year. But the star will appear as Michelle Obama in Showtime’s upcoming series.
Speculated to be titled, The First Lady, the show will follow the day-to-day lives of past First Ladies in office. The show will “peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives” showing the audience the point of view of these famous women, at crucial points of history.
Per Variety, they will focus much of the plot upon the East Wing, in which “many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic First Ladies.”
Charting back to the days of Roosevelt, The Crown’s Gillian Anderson will play Eleanor, a First Lady known to be linked to social issues more so than any other in her role before.
Michelle Pfeiffer will portray Betty Ford, who, while in the office her husband Gerald, led the charge for breast cancer awareness, as well as the Equal Rights Amendment.
Other cast members include Dakota Fanning and Aaron Eckart, who will play as Susan and Gerald Ford respectively, while Jayme Lawson will play young Michelle, from age 15 through 30.
With each cast member being named for the show, Davis’ name trumps them; coming fresh off the heels of her award-winning performance in the aforementioned Netflix film.
In December, the How To Get Away With Murder star was interviewed on The Graham Norton Show to discuss the matter.
Tentative in playing the role, Davis explained: “People love Michelle Obama. They feel like they know her, they own her — and they do not want anything negative to touch her.”
Stating her urge to tap into the emotional elements of her character, she stated it’ll be a tough task to look for a “mess” in playing Obama, and wanting to display that on screen.
It is a tall order that had not been acted upon much over the past two decades. The only piece that Obama’s likeness was utilized in by another actor was 2016’s Southside with You with Tika Sumpter.
It is quite the task to undertake for all a part of this project. But with the castmates in tow, the project is anticipated with high hopes.
