Viola Davis Quotes

I wish I could adjust my voice, but it's just what's happened to me. It's because I've lived abroad for a long time, and my wife is English and my kids all have English accents, and every voice I hear is English. I've never intentionally changed my accent at all.

Generally, nowadays, I'm using my own accent because casting directors want it; they like that.

I played a Siamese girl from Thailand. I played an Arabian girl. I did a lot of American Indians. I never, ever was able to do a part without assuming some kind of accent.

If my work is on the stage, you can be rested assured I'm going to make use of it as a platform for activism as much as possible.

What we have in Mexico and Latin America is a wide diversity of voices, but in Mexico, for example, we haven't been able to get a lot of the movies into theaters.

I've pretty much played every regional accent you can play in the U.K. I've played German, French, Arabic; I've been Jordanian, Lebanese. I've covered a lot of ground.

I'm just trying to play against ethnicity. I got to play a guy from Louisiana in 'The Pacific' named Merriell Shelton, and now I'm playing Elliot Alderman.

I think the hardest accent for me to do is what I end up trying a lot of times, and it's like some sort of a general American sound. So not Southern and not east-coast or west-coast, but just a general American sound that no one really speaks, actually.

When I'm playing an American, I don't play Lennie with an American accent. They're American characters who look like me, but they have different voices.

I started acting when I was really young. I came to the States and didn't know anyone, and I spoke with a weird Irish accent.

I've done a few American accents. I've maybe passed a test. But I don't know if it makes things easier or not.

I dubbed for 'Nannaku Prematho' because in that film, I was doing a London-based character, and even if some mistake happens with pronunciation, people would excuse it.

I always work with a coach. That's just a personal thing that I like to do. During interviews, you'll hear more of my accent, and I'll stress the wrong words.

I love to perform. I love live shows.

Thank God for jazz. It gave black women what film and theater gave white women: a well-lighted space where they could play with roles and styles, conduct esthetic experiments and win money and praise.

The job of an artist is to entertain and not get involved with politics. We give the people in the countries we are visiting a good show - that's the purpose of an entertainer.

I always say that cinema reflects life, not the other way round.

At least in my performances, the audience has become so diverse in a way that I don't think ballet has ever experienced.

I had people who said I was a brilliant producer but I wouldn't get on the news because I was too northern. But there was no way I was changing my accent - it is the key to my identity.

We've got to celebrate all diverse artists and actors and 'Aladdin' does that really well.

It blows my mind that you get Shakespeare where the 'low' comedy characters have got Northern or Welsh accents.

When my first show was on MTV, and it was this outrageous persona, I think people certainly didn't know what to think. But it was a performance. I'm sure people didn't know that it was a performance; they thought maybe I was just nuts, but that was all intentional.

I would love to do regional cinema, provided the role is exciting enough and artistically challenging.

I can do so many accents that I'll never be able to use. There aren't casting calls for a black guy to play a Scottish highlander. I can hope. I've got my brogue ready. I just need the opportunity!

I love performing, and connecting with an audience never gets old for me.