The actress said she believes the film did not do justice to the stories of its black characters
Viola Davis might have gotten an Oscar nomination for 2012’s « The Help, » but she says she regrets her role in the film. During a new interview with the New York Times, she admitted that she believes the film did not do justice to the stories of its black characters.
« Have I ever done roles that I’ve regretted? I have, and ‘The Help’ is on that list, » Viola Davis told the New York Times on Tuesday. She said that as a role model for women of color, she feels extra pressure to guide others.
« Being that role model and picking up that baton when you’re struggling in your own life has been difficult, » she said. She discussed the criticism that « The Help » glorified white women for easing racial tensions instead of focusing praise on the black characters, like Davis’ character, Aibileen, who is a maid.
Davis agreed that the maid characters in the film should have received more recognition.
« I just felt that at the end of the day that it wasn’t the voices of the maids that were heard, » she said. « I know Aibileen. I know Minny. They’re my grandma. They’re my mom. And I know that if you do a movie where the whole premise is, I want to know what it feels like to work for white people and to bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie. »
She did add, however, that she enjoyed working with her colleagues from the film.
« The friendships that I formed are ones that I’m going to have for the rest of my life, » she said. « I had a great experience with these other actresses, who are extraordinary human beings. And I could not ask for a better collaborator than [director] Tate Taylor. »
In 2016, Davis told Lee Cowan on « CBS Sunday Morning » that it’s been a difficult road finding the right roles.
« I have a deep voice. I probably have the ‘character look’; I am a woman of a certain hue. Those roles, those kind of diverse roles weren’t being written for anyone who looked like me, » she said.
