People like the OMG moments, says Viola Davis

Viola Davis needs no introduction. The Academy Award winner, who has also won the Emmy Award in 2015 for her role of Annalise Keating, the unflinching lawyer with a conscience, in the hit show How To Get Away With Murder, speaks about why the show is liked by many across the world.

Q With this show, you’ve garnered quite a few awards and international acclaim. Why do you think this show has such a global reach and appeals to the audiences so much?
Well, I can only guess. This is a better question for the audiences, but I think that people like the OMG moments. I think they like the unexpected. I think it’s exciting to them, like a Greek murder mystery. I would love to believe that it is a different kind of leading lady with Annalise; a different look and a different approach that maybe they had to grow into, but they decided that they like her. I think they like the mess of the characters. They really do.

Q Have you guys been able to cast any international talent or shoot at an international location and maybe have a global plot?
Umm…no. We’re based in Philadelphia, but definitely an international cast! We have Karla Souza and you have…umm…look at me, I’m terrible with names! But not an international setting… we’re not going to South Africa or Australia.

Q Do you feel that the viewer can grab onto the storyline no matter where they are?
Oh, absolutely! I feel that way from the very beginning of the show and I think all the actors work towards giving the characters something relatable. Basically, we’re all just the same, right? We’re all kind of trying to survive. We’re all sort of messy…and we’re all sort of fighting some fight.

We certainly see that in Bonnie and a lot of the other characters and definitely the storyline. With Annalise’s alcoholism and Bonnie being sexually abused, yeah!

Q Your strong female characters are resonating with the rest of the world and your character is just so strong...
She is so strong, but I think we have to redefine the word ‘strong’, because I think she is strong in the sense that she is always has a survivor spirit. She’s not down for the count. But she’s not strong; she doesn’t have an absence of vulnerability. She doesn’t
have an absence of mess. She doesn’t have an absence of confusion.  

(The fourth season of How to Get Away with Murder, will premiere in India on Star World on the 30th of  September at 10 PM.)