Viola Davis, who has been nominated for an Academy Award twice prior to this year’s ceremony, finally took home her first statuette. The veteran actress won the Best Supporting Actress prize for her magnificent performance in Fences. The skill of her performance in the August Wilson adaptation, for which she also won a Best Actress in a Play Tony Award in 2010, is hard to deny. Davis’ win has been more or less locked up for months at this point, and few would argue with this win. It’s an award that is more than deserved, despite some slight category fraud required for her to win the trophy with ease.
Her speech touched on why she is so happy that she became an actor, mostly because it is an industry and a job that celebrates living a life and all that comes with it. Davis also spoke about Wilson’s talent, Denzel’s ability as a director and a friend, and her entire family for their support over the years. She even called Denzel “oh Captain, my Captain” so it looks like their friendship is about as solid as a friendship can get. Davis is in such command and control of every performance she takes on, so it was nice to see her once again let some emotion out on stage as the overwhelming moment plays out.
After all, who would dare begrudge a first-time Oscar winner some tears and emotion during an acceptance speech?
