Viola Davis won the Tone for lead actress in a play. so why did she win
for supporting actress at the Critics Choice Awards?
I was just about to post this is so stupid! I know Viola Davis has no role in how she is placed BUT she is clearly the FEMALE LEAD in fences. I was shocked and disappointed she was nominated for best supporting actress. Dumb decision by the studio!
shareIf she had entered in Lead Actress, she would've lost to Natalie Portman (for Jackie) or Emma Stone (for La La Land)! - Everyone sees this as a chance for Viola Davis to finally win a Oscar, so the strategy is to place her in the Best Supporting Actress, because she has better odds of winning!
In the 1987 Broadway production of Fences, Mary Alice (who played Rose) won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (supporting actress). The reason Viola Davis won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play, because the revival's producers successfully lobbied for her to be treated as a lead and it paid off!
I'm disappointed that Viola Davis isn't in the Lead Actress category, but she's overdue for an Oscar!
She'll win for best supporting actress (this time), then will win her 2nd Oscar for best actress next time!
Yeah and who says Viola Davis is going to get it.You never know a few years ago people said she was going to win for best actress BUT lost to Meryl Streep. I just feel like this is a mistake. I can see Viola losing the best supporting actress category. Also, Viola Davis is the FEMALE LEAD in this film. Viola winning a best supporting actress Oscar is not a great thing to be honest. This lady should be winning the BEST ACTRESS Oscar. Kind of sad how Hollywood politics works. Only one black lady has ever won Best actress Oscar and that is Halle Berry. I remember Helen Hunt got nominated for best supporting actress for her performance in the sessions YET she lost that category I believe to Octavia Spencer. I just think this is sad and disappointing. Many people want to see Viola Davis win for BEST ACTRESS NOT SUPPORTING ACTRESS. Too many black women in the past 10 years or so have won for supporting. This is a lead role Viola I think the Academy has the final decision she should be nominated for the female best actress not supporting.
shareHow about seeing the film first, before starting the fire? What if this actually is a supporting role? I think many are overrating because THEY WANT TO SEE HER WINNING A LEAD ACTRESS OSCAR. Well first Viola herself said that the role is more supporting and thats why she decided with the studio to go in that category. This role was also always considered supporting, except once when Viola won a Tony for it, but someone already explained why. Also a lot of people who ve seen the film say that she IS ACTUALLY SUPPORTING, and that she is not as lead as they though she would be, in fact many say she was more of a lead character in The Help than here. So again just because people want to see her winning a lead Oscar doesnt mean she should be getting LEAD actress nominations for actually supporting roles.
shareViola Davis, after watching the finished result, she thought she should be going for supporting. So she decided. You can now stop.
shareThen EVEN if Viola Davis wins it is a disappointment this lady is a LEAD ACTRESS. The Tony awards put her in the lead. This is just Hollywood politics. Viola Davis won the lead actress Tony for Fences. Then she should be nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the lead category as well. The Academy has the final say over where an actor is placed NOT the studio I believe. And this role Viola SHOULD be the lead she is the female lead in the movie. If Viola wins for this it still treats black women as second class citizens. Plenty of black ladies have won in the supporting category BUT only one has won best actress. And Halle Berry isn't even really black she is HALF WHITE. Halle Berry is also not a great actress like Viola Davis.
share Well it matters how you think of it.
Viola Davis' role is definitely the only/ most prominent female one in "Fences".
But what if she only occupies the screen for 20 minutes out of a two-hour film ? Does that make her character a leading role ? No. That makes her supporting because she isn't the main focus of the film. She doesn't have the most screen time. That is how they categorize performances.
However, I definitely agree that she deserves a Best Actress Oscar one day and that having Halle Berry be the only one to have won it is ridiculous, considering she is not a good actress.
Which people said Davis was the Best Actress frontrunner for the Help? They must've been in another world since Streep was set to win since the screening of the Iron Lady. Almost every critic called a win for her and hailed the perf as one of the best of her career.
One day in the year of the fox came a time remembered well...
Stone and Portman? I'll bet my money on Adams or Bening instead if I were you. Both are overdue for a win.
One day in the year of the fox came a time remembered well...
Good question.
Whatever you are, be a good one.