Just as she does on stage, TV and in films, Davis connected with her audience. Not once during the hour-long chat did a cell phone ring or anyone interrupt. Instead, people listened to two black women at the top of their fields. Davis, who understands Hollywood all too well, said, ‘'People do want to see themselves on screen. I'm saying if I were Caucasian -- and I pray you know what I am talking about -- all I would have to worry about is finding great material."
Cornish (above left), the co-host of All Things Considered, asked just enough questions to allow Davis to deliver wonderfully thoughtful answers, responding more in mini essays than sound bites. She asked the Oscar, two-time Tony and primetime Emmy winner if she sings just so she could land in that elite circle of EGOT winners. The answer seemed to be not really, but recording an audiobook is not out of the question. (She recently wrote a book titled Corduroy the Bear.)
Promoting her new film, Widows, Davis explained how she found her way into her character Veronica, who leads a multi-million-dollar caper. “Who would go to a life of criminality after a seemingly normal life?” she asked. “She has nothing -- emotionally, economically.” Her son and husband are now dead, and she has no idea how to pay the bills or go on. Desperate, Veronica opts to do the dangerous heist, score the millions and somehow go on with her life. This logic resounded with people as they nodded, understanding that though a gun-toting thief, this fictional character was still multi-dimensional.
The reason why people in the audience were rapt and agreed with her is that Davis infuses characters with such relatable layers, no matter the role. Over the years, she has often played a maid, or a drug-addicted mom among the woefully stereotypical parts offered to black women. Other actors have told her they won’t allow themselves to be typecast. Ever the wise veteran, Davis retorted, “Okay, you have to get a job first.”
In a career that began on stage after graduating from Julliard, she has worked steadily and even now, at this level of international stardom, Davis acknowledged it is not easy. She trades neither in false modesty nor braggadocio; instead, Davis tells it like it is. “It is a business about money,” she asserted. “Like Denzel says, it should be called business show.”
Noting that Hollywood's favorite color is green, Davis was also honest that people with proven track records tend to get hired because it is so expensive to mount projects. She and her husband Julius Tennon have a production company called JuVee where they employ all people of color and are "committed to changing the industry.">