“He did some bad things”: Viola Davis Was Horrified by Jared Leto’s Method Acting After Actor Sent Her a Dead Pig to Stay in Character
Over the years, Hollywood star Viola Davis has gone from being a pioneer for the African-American voice in cinema to a blockbuster female actor who has headlined many commercially successful films and TV shows. The Oscar and Emmy winner has left no stone unturned in her career by also entering the superhero franchise as the ruthless director of the Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller.
Davis, in an early interview with Vanity Fair, spoke about the future of women in cinema, their courage to tread the path of their male counterparts, and her efforts to give African-American women an identity through her roles. The Oscar winner also spoke about her experiences on the Suicide Squad set and recalled her first out-of-the-box encounter with Joker actor, Jared Leto.
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Viola Davis Was Shocked By Jared Leto’s Extreme Tricks
Viola Davis, who played Amanda Waller in the Suicide Squad, talked of her time on the film set along with other A-listers. One of the incidents that threw Davis off balance was her strange and shocking experience of meeting Jared Leto for the first time. Looking back at the manner in which Leto introduced himself in keeping with his character as Joker, she said,
“He did some really bad things. He gave some really horrific gifts. He had a henchman who would come into the rehearsal room, and the henchman came with a dead pig and plopped it on the table. And that was our introduction to Jared Leto.”
Davis added that Leto did not stop with pranking her alone. The Dallas Buyers Club actor turned his brutal humor on Margot Robbie by presenting her with a live black rat. Though Robbie was petrified at first, she ended up keeping the rodent. Apart from being shell-shocked by Leto’s action, Viola Davis also admitted that she got a glimpse of the crazy talent that he was, which prompted her to get on her A-game.
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The Woman King Is Another Win For Viola Davis
The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with their fierce skills. Inspired by true events, the film follows the emotionally epic journey of the leader of the unit played by Viola Davis who fights for the pride and honor of her land. The film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood received praise for its powerful portrayal of African women led by a group of dynamic female actors. To quote the New York Times,
“The Woman King is about strong, dynamic Black women, their souls, minds, and bodies. You don’t need to be a scholar of old Hollywood, which divided Black performers in hierarchies of color, typecasting darker actors in servant roles, to grasp the greater implications of Prince-Bythewood foregrounding women like Davis, Sheila Atim, and Lashana Lynch — it’s galvanizing”
Viola Davis, who has always been vocal about her responsibility to showcase strong narratives involving black women, once again proved that she can walk the talk through her performance in The Woman King.
