She went in the odds-on favorite and came out a winner.
As predicted by Oscar prognosticators far and wide, Viola Davis took home the Best Supporting Actress trophy at Sunday’s 89th annual Academy Awards for her raw, visceral work in Fences.
In her emotional acceptance speech, Davis said, “There’s one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered — and that’s the graveyard. People ask me all the time, what kind of stories do you want to tell? And i say, ‘Exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories.’ We are the only profession to celebrate what it means to live a life. So here’s to [Fences playwright/screenwriter] August Wilson, who exhumed — and exalted — ordinary people.”
.@violadavis gives #Oscars acceptance speech: Artists “the only profession that celebrate what it means to live a life” pic.twitter.com/6saH17l0di
— ABC News (@ABC) February 27, 2017
Heading into Sunday’s ceremony, the How to Get Away With Murder actress had already triumphed at the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards and the BAFTAs.
This was Davis’ third Oscar nomination and first win; she had previously been nominated for her work in 2009’s Doubt and 2012’s The Help.
