Viola Davis recalled own trauma while shooting The Woman King
msn.comViola Davis drew on the "fears" she was left with after being sexually assaulted for her performance in 'The Woman King'. The 57-year-old actress has spoken in the past of how she and her four sisters were assaulted by various men growing up in poverty in Rhode Island and she recalled those experiences for a powerful scene in the movie where her character, Nanisca, ambushes General Oba at a slave market in an attempt to provoke war.
She said: “Every time I approached Oba. I was approaching the man who sexually assaulted me. I was not just approaching the enemy.
Listen, the things that have taken the strongest human being down have been a traumatic memory that they could not fight through. “I’m talking about Nanisca, but I talk about Viola in terms of facing my fears too, every single day … Every woman who has been sexually assaulted knows exactly what I mean at that moment. ” And Viola recognised the female bonds of the warriors in the movie with the one she shares with her sisters, who she refers to as her "platoon".
She told the Guardian newspaper: “Here’s the thing: we’re sisters, the Agojie are sisters. That’s not the mentality of just hanging out, doing some shopping and having an Aperol spritz.
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