Viola Davis’ journey to becoming one of Hollywood’s most revered actors was driven by a straightforward mantra: Embrace every role, using each as a paycheck and a chance to explore new characters while honing her skills.
Davis delivered a moving, 16-minute speech while accepting the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Gala: An Evening of Excellence on Friday night. She reflected on how her turbulent upbringing fueled her passion for acting as an escape and how financial necessity often influenced her choice of roles.
“If I waited for a role that was written for me, well crafted, then I wouldn’t be standing up here,” said Davis, who along with Ted Danson, recipient of the Carol Burnett Award, were celebrated for their career achievements in film and television during a star-studded, black-tie gala dinner in Beverly Hills, California, just two nights before the 82nd annual Golden Globes on Sunday.
Some of the popular names in attendance included Carol Burnett, Jane Fonda, Anthony Anderson, Steve Guttenberg and singer-songwriter Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. It’s the first time the Globes hosted a separate event dedicated to both awards.
Davis said she couldn’t afford to wait for the perfect role, especially as a “dark-skinned Black woman with a wide nose and big lips.”
“So I took it for the money,” said Davis, who won praise for a string of compelling characters in films such as “Fences,””The Woman King,” “The Help” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” while captivating TV audiences through the legal thriller drama “How to Get Away with Murder.”
“I don’t believe that poverty is really the answer to craft,” she said. “I don’t think there’s any nobility in poverty.”
Meryl Streep presented the award to Davis, who she called a pure artist who “delivers the truth every time.” Both actors worked together in the 2008 film “Doubt,” where Streep first became in awe of Davis, who she called her “favorite actor in the world.”
The DeMille Award has been bestowed on Hollywood’s greatest talents. Past recipients include Tom Hanks, Jeff Bridges, Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Freeman, Streep, Barbra Streisand and Sidney Poitier.
When Danson accepted his award, he congratulated Davis, calling her an “amazing actor.”
“It’s such a pleasure to be in the same room with you,” said Danson, a three-time Globes winner, who has been a fixture on TV since he broke out as Boston bartender Sam Malone on NBC’s comedy “Cheers.” His other credits include “The Good Place,” “Mr. Mayor,” “Fargo,” “CSI” and “CSI: Cyber,” “Damages” and “Becker.”
Danson currently stars in Netflix’s “A Man on the Inside,” which earned his first nomination since 2008 and 13th overall.
“Bia Iftikhar, who does his hair on set, said it best: ‘Ted sets the tone,'” said his wife, actor Mary Steenburgen, who presented Danson with the Carol Burnett Award, which was inaugurated in 2019. Past recipients include Norman Lear, Ryan Murphy and Ellen DeGeneres. The first was Burnett herself.
Danson and Steenburgen appeared in a few projects together including “Pontiac Moon,” “Gulliver’s Travels” and “It Must Be Love.”
“He’s so loving and takes such joy in acting that all of us who are hard at work away from our families for long hours get to work on a set that is dictated by his kindness,” Steenburgen said. “As his wife, watching the respect and love … for Ted, it made me very proud.”
Danson traded “I love you” with Burnett, showing admiration for each other. He thanked a number of writers, producers and actors along with the “Cheers” co-creators Glen and Les Charles, who surprised him by showing up to the event.
“I feel so grateful,” he said. “I’m truly the luckiest… on Earth.”
Davis quipped, “Little Viola is squealing,” referring to how her younger self would be overjoyed at the actor’s journey from an impoverished childhood to Hollywood stardom.
“She’s standing behind me and she’s pulling on my dress,” said Davis, who achieved EGOT status after winning a Grammy last year for best audio book, narration, and storytelling for the recording for her memoir “Finding Me.”
“She’s wearing the same red rubber boots that she wore rain or shine because they her feel ‘purty'” she continued. “What she’s whispering is: ‘I told you I was a magician.'”
