Oscars 2017: Viola Davis delivers an emotional Oscar acceptance speech
| Updated: Feb 27, 2017, 10:37 IST
Hollywood actress, Viola Davis won her first Oscar for the Best Supporting Actress trophy for her performance as Rose Maxson in 'Fences' at the 89th Academy Awards. Directed by Denzel Washington, 'Fences' is an adaptation of a play by August Wilson.
The visibly emotional actress, Viola Davis’s in her Oscar acceptance speech thanked her director, Denzel Washington, and commemorated the playwright, August Wilson’s dedication to bringing out the humanity of life. Davis said, “You know, there's one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered — one place, and that's the graveyard.”
The actress continued further, "People ask me all the time, 'What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?' And I say, 'Exhume those bodies.' Exhume those stories — the stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition. People who fell in love and lost. I became an artist, and thank God I did because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. So here's to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people."
She also thanked her husband, Julius Tennon, and daughter, Genesis, during her acceptance speech. "To my husband and daughter, my heart. You and Genesis, you teach me every day how to live, how to love," she said. "I'm so glad that you are the foundation of my life," the actress concluded.
With her Oscar win, Viola Davis has become the first black woman to win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony for acting. Viola Davis is currently essaying the role of Annalise Keating on ABC’s 'How to get Away With Murder'.
The visibly emotional actress, Viola Davis’s in her Oscar acceptance speech thanked her director, Denzel Washington, and commemorated the playwright, August Wilson’s dedication to bringing out the humanity of life. Davis said, “You know, there's one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered — one place, and that's the graveyard.”
The actress continued further, "People ask me all the time, 'What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?' And I say, 'Exhume those bodies.' Exhume those stories — the stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition. People who fell in love and lost. I became an artist, and thank God I did because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. So here's to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people."
She also thanked her husband, Julius Tennon, and daughter, Genesis, during her acceptance speech. "To my husband and daughter, my heart. You and Genesis, you teach me every day how to live, how to love," she said. "I'm so glad that you are the foundation of my life," the actress concluded.
With her Oscar win, Viola Davis has become the first black woman to win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony for acting. Viola Davis is currently essaying the role of Annalise Keating on ABC’s 'How to get Away With Murder'.