Viola Davis Pays Ultimate Tribute to Chadwick Boseman on Oscars 2021 Red Carpet
Viola Davis deserves an Academy Award for her ultimate emotional tribute to her "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" co-star Chadwick Boseman.
On the Oscars 2021 Red Carpet, the "How to Get Away With Murder" actress described him as "authenticity on steroids."
Boseman, who passed awayafter losing his battle with cancer last August, is nominated for Best Actor posthumously at the 2021 Academy Awards. Davis is also nominated for Best Actress for her role in the musical drama.
The 55-year-old spoke to Guiliana Rancic on "Live from E!: Oscars" pre-show and was asked how she felt after the industry honored him on every awards season.
"It feels right," the "Calm" actress said, "Only because I know him."
Davis further said, "Sometimes people honor people who actually were not really nice, or the persona did not match the real person."
She explained, "This, it matches the person. I'm telling you: This person, this human being, this artist did not mistake his presence for the event. He absolutely honored the work."
Davis said that Boseman entered it because he wanted to be an artist, adding, "And a lot of people enter this business because they want to be famous actors. They don't want to be actors, they want to be famous actors."
This wasn't the first time Viola Davis has paid an emotional tribute to Chadwick Boseman. In some of her interviews, the actress gushes about him and even revealing that the "Black Panther" star was a pleasure to work with.
Speaking to Yahoo! In December, Davis said of Boseman, "What I hold onto with Chad is that he lived his life his way. I would say his professional life as absolutely paralleled his personal life, that's my guess, in terms of how he lived with the utmost integrity."
She also spoke about her reaction after finding out that Chadwick Boseman died at the age of 43, explaining how Davis broke down.
"Lord knows we all would've wanted him to live another 50 years. We all want longevity. But I can't see his life tragically at all."
She added, "Because I felt like he was always living in the moment, squeezing out every bit of life. What it makes me think is, it's not the quantity; it's the quality
Chadwick Boseman Posthumous Awards
Boseman posthumously won several awards during the awards season, including Critics Choice, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards. Chadwick Boseman's wife, Simone Ledward Boseman, accepted all of the awards on his behalf.
Viola Davis on Oscars 2021
Viola Davis is the most nominated Black woman in the history of the Academy Awards, as per Entertainment weekly.
In addition to her nomination for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," she has also been nominated for "The Help," "Fences," and "Doubt."
If Davis wins tonight, she will be the second Black woman to win Best Actress joining Halle Berry for her movie "Monster's Ball" in 2002.
