Viola Davis: ‘I was always so hungry and ashamed.’

I was always so hungry and ashamed, I couldn’t tap into my potential. I couldn’t get at the business of being me.

Viola Davis, SAG Awards

On what her experience was like first becoming an actress:

One thing that is missing from the vision boards is what happens when you don’t get what you want. Your ability to adapt to failure, and navigate your way out of it, absolutely 100 percent makes you who you are.

On what she is doing to give back to the community:

and yes, I’m going to hit up more of my friends. This is the richest country in the world. There’s no reason kids should be going to school hungry. Food is something that everyone should have. It just is. I was affected by hunger—and many people still are.

On her comfortability with sharing her story:

I’m finally comfortable with my story. And I finally understand what [mythologist] Joseph Campbell meant when he said: ‘The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.’

@JustEss__