The more I'm pushed in a position of leadership and I know I have to be the mouthpiece for so many other people who can't speak for themselves, the more confidence I'm gaining.
Viola DavisRead
Vanity destroys your work. That's the one thing you have to let go of as an actor. I don't care how sexy or beautiful any woman is. At the end of the day, she has to take her makeup off. At the end of the day, she's more than just pretty.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Vanity can hinder true artistic expression and worth.
In this quote, Viola Davis emphasizes that vanity and the superficiality associated with physical beauty can detract from the deeper value and authenticity of one's work and identity, especially in the acting profession. She highlights the importance of looking beyond appearances to recognize and appreciate the full essence of a person.
Themes
VanityAuthenticityBeautyIdentityArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the pressures of beauty standards in Hollywood.
More from Viola Davis
All quotes →What excites me is just taking some time to breathe in life. The mundane is very exciting.
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I don't care if someone is new to acting or experienced in acting: you always learn something from them. It's just like people in life - whether they're young or middle-aged or old, you always learn something from someone.
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I don't see a lot of narratives written where a woman who looks like me gets to be beautiful and sexualized and upwardly mobile, middle-class, funny, quirky. They're very seldom written.
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And that's what people want to see when they go to the theater. I believe at the end of the day, they want to see themselves - parts of their lives they can recognize. And I feel if I can achieve that, it's pretty spectacular.
Viola DavisRead
There's no prerequisites to worthiness. You're born worthy, and I think that's a message a lot of women need to hear.
Viola DavisRead
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