Viola Davis was expected to win Best Supporting Actress at the 2017 Academy Awards for her role in Fences.
And Viola Davis was expected to give an especially poignant speech after her win for Best Supporting Actress at the 2017 Academy Awards for her role in Fences.
Both these things happened on Sunday night.
But that didn"t make them any less dramatic or impactful.
“People ask me all the time, what kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?" said Davis early on in her acceptance speech, adding:
"And I say, exhume those bodies, exhume those stories, the stories of the people who dreamed."
She went on, explaining her rationale and showering praise on her industry in general.
"I became an artist, and thank god I did, because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. So here’s to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people."
The How to Get Away with Murder star continued to gush over the playwright behind Fences, which she described as, “a movie that is about people, and words, and life, and forgiveness, and grace.”
Now the only black woman to have won an Oscar, Emmy and Tony for acting, Davis referred to co-star and director Denzel Washington as her "captain" and told the actor:
"Thank you for putting two entities in the driving seat: August and God. And they served you well.”
Twitter quickly blew up after the speech was over with jokes over how the speech itself ought to be nominated for an Oscar or Emmy.
Watch the entire thing below:
