In a few weeks Viola Davis’ “Widow” will hit theaters, her first leading role in a film.
The actress’ co-star and husband in the release is Liam Neeson, and in one scene they share a deep, passionate kiss that Davis says is an extremely big deal. She also said the lip lock is pretty rare, something that hasn’t been seen in a while, if ever.
“For me, this is something you’ll not see this year, last year, the year before that,” she said while speaking to The Guardian. “That is a dark-skinned woman of color, at 53 years old, kissing Liam Neeson. Not just kissing a white man. Liam Neeson, a hunk. And kissing him sexually, romantically.”
Screenshot from “Widows” film
“Nobody will pay attention to that,” continued Davis. “And if you mention it to someone, I think they’ll feel like it’s hip and it’s funky that they didn’t notice it. But will you see it again? If you don’t think that’s a big deal, then tell me, why isn’t it happening more? There’s a part of me that can answer that.”
In the film, Neeson plays a professional criminal, and after he passes away Davis has to pick up where he left off.
It also stars the diverse cast of Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki, and Davis said she wants to see more of these roles for Black women, where they can be normal but complete people. She pointed to the roles of Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep as examples.
“I always say that one thing missing in cinema is that regular Black woman, not anyone didactic or whose sole purpose in the narrative is to illustrate some social abnormality. There’s no meaning behind it, other than she is just there,” she explained. “I would love to have a Black female ‘Klute’ or ‘Kramer’ or ‘Unmarried Woman’ or ‘Annie Hall.’ But who’s gonna write it, who’s gonna produce it, who’s gonna see it again and again and again?”
“Widow” hits theaters on Nov. 16.
