Awards season is building to its biggest night, with the 89th annual Academy Awards fast approaching. Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their list of nominees for 2017 and they should be able to avoid the same #OscarsSoWhite backlash that was experienced last year. That is in part becauseViola Daviswas nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her work inFences, which makes her the most nominated black actress in the history of the Academy Awards.
With her latest nomination,Viola Davishas now been nominated for three Academy Awards, marking the first time an African-American actress has ever accomplished that. Win or lose, with the nomination, she has cemented her place in the Oscar history books. Speaking with theLos Angeles Timesafter the Academy Award Nominations were released this morning,Viola DavispraisedDenzel Washingtonfor directingFencesand thanked the Academy. Here is what she had to say.
“Thank you to the Academy for recognizing this extraordinary, important film and my work in it. Thank you, Denzel, for being at the helm!”
Viola Davishas been getting a ton of praise and recognition for her role inFencesleading up to theOscar nominationsand she is the likely favorite to win the Award next month, especially after winning the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress recently. She had quite a bit of preparation for the role, since she andDenzel Washingtonalso performed the stage play on Broadway, and she was awarded a Tony for her work in that show. So, she was already very familiar with the part and had proved she could deliver on an Oscar-worthy level.Viola Davishas some pretty heavy competition in the Best Supporting Actress category, though. Also nominated areNaomie HarrisforMoonlight,Nicole KidmanforLion,Octavia SpencerforHidden FiguresandMichelle WilliamsforManchester by the Sea.
Last year, theAcademy Awardswere heavily criticized for their lack of diversity. In 2016, no African-Americans were nominated for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress, which prompted social media users to call attention to it with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite and led some professionals in the industry to boycott the event. Looking at the Best Supporting Actress category alone for 2017, it is clear that isn’t the case this year. That is not to say the only reason for the nominations had to do with the backlash from last year, because the actresses honored in that category this year are very clearly deserving of the praise. Other categories for this year’s Academy Awards are also displaying some diversity, with the Best Cinematography category making history by givingBradford Younga nomination for his work onArrival, making him the first black American to be nominated in that category.
Viola Daviswas previously nominated for her work in 2009’sDoubt, for which she was nominated for Best Supported Actress. She also earned a Best Actress nomination in 2012 forThe Help. Not for nothing, but her co-star from that movieEmma Stoneis nominated for Best Actress this year for her work inLa La Landand is the favorite to win. Maybe she learned a thing or two fromViola DavisonThe Help.Viola Davismay not yet be on the level of someone likeMeryl Streep, who scored a record 20th Oscar nomination this year, but she is now a powerhouse and trailblazer in her own right. Hopefully, she can get her first win forFencesthis year. The 89th annual Academy Awards are set to air on February 26 at 7 p.m. EST on ABC.
