Viola Davis and Jennifer Lawrence have both succeeded as action heroes despite an industry that historically has few blockbuster action hero roles for women. Check out their in-depth discussion of navigating that landscape.
Davis shared the remarkable story of how she got pitched for The Woman King:
Maria Bello presented me with an award at Skirball Institute. And instead of presenting it traditionally, she pitched the idea of this movie, which she’d written a treatment for and was shopping around town. She said, “Wouldn’t everyone want to see Viola in ‘The Woman King’?” Everyone cheered. They stood up. And I remember that was the moment I thought to myself, “Sit down. It’s just never going to happen.”
Critics were quick to take Lawrence out of context after she said of her Hunger Games role that “nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie, because it wouldn’t work, we were told. Girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead.” She later clarified with The Hollywood Reporter:
That’s certainly not what I meant to say at all. I know that I am not the only woman who has ever led an action film. What I meant to emphasize was how good it feels. And I meant that with Viola — to blow past these old myths that you hear about … about the chatter that you would hear around that kind of thing. But it was my blunder and it came out wrong. I had nerves talking to a living legend.
The series includes other fun sit-downs, including Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh:
Fan faves Adam Sandler and Brendan Frasier also had a wonderful convo.
Image: YouTube / Variety
