Viola Davis Wins Best Supporting Actress at the 2017 Oscars, Gives Breathtaking Speech
Viola Davis was named Best Supporting Actress at the 2017 Academy Awards Sunday night (Feb. 26). The actress won for her acclaimed performance in Fences. This is Davis's first Academy Award win, and her third nomination.
Her speech was an instant classic. She said, “There’s one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered, and that’s the graveyard." She then described a question she says she has been asked frequently:
‘What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?’ I say exhume those bodies and the stories of the people who dream big, and never saw those dreams to fruition. People who fell in love and lost. I became an artist, and thank God I did. We’re the only profession who celebrates to live a life. So here’s to August Wilson, who exhumed and exulted the ordinary people.
Davis took home the Oscar over fellow nominees Naomie Harris for Moonlight, Nicole Kidman for Lion, Octavia Spencer for Hidden Figures, and Michelle Williams for Manchester by the Sea.
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the 89th Annual Academy Awards ceremony takes place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, February 26, broadcast live on ABC beginning at 8:30 PM EST. The 2017 Academy Award nominees were announced on January 24.
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2017 Academy Award Nominees: Best Supporting Actor