Viola Davis' Top 5 Roles
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Click through to see Viola Davis's top 5 roles. (Matt Sayles/AP)
5. "Prisoners" (2013):
Davis brought a sense of deep melancholy to her role as Nancy Birch, a suburban Pennsylvania mother whose young daughter Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons) is kidnapped on a rainy Thanksgiving. Hugh Jackman stomps and seethes his way through this dark morality play whilst Davis maintains a quiet and somewhat sinister intensity. (Warner Bros.)
4. "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (2011):
Davis plays Abby Black, the first of 472 'Blacks' listed in the New York phone book and the first one visited by young Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) as he tries to solve an apparent mystery left by his father (Tom Hanks), who died on 9/11. Davis inspires cheers as Abby eventually helps Oskar solve the puzzle by leading him to her ex-husband, William (Jeffrey Wright). (Warner Bros.)
3. "Antwone Fisher" (2002):
Davis first got on the radar of Hollywood awards-givers with her portrayal of Eva Mae Fisher, the estranged mother of troubled orphan turned U.S. Navy sailor Antwone Fisher (Derek Luke). The climactic (and cathartic) reunion between mother and son is perhaps the best of many terrific scenes in this biographical drama directed by Denzel Washington. (Fox Searchlight)
2. "Doubt" (2008):
"I just wanna say, though, it's just 'til June." Davis gave a heartbreaking (and Oscar-nominated) performance as Mrs. Miller, the mother of Donald (Joseph Foster), a Catholic school student and altar boy who may have engaged in 'inappropriate behavior' with Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Mrs. Miller is less concerned about the possible scandal and more about her son getting into a good high school — and staying away from his abusive father. (Everett)
1. "The Help" (2011):
Davis' most celebrated role to date is her excellent turn as Aibileen Clark, a long-suffering but unflinchingly proud housemaid who inspires a sense of confidence and compassion in her young charges with these resonant words of wisdom: "You is kind, you is smart, you is important." (DreamWorks)
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Click through to see Viola Davis's top 5 roles. (Matt Sayles/AP)
Click through to see Viola Davis' top 5 roles.
