Legendary actress Viola Davis is known for her iconic roles in How to Get Away with Murder, Doubt, Fences and Scandal, to mention but a few.
One of the biggest movies she starred in was award-winning movie The Help, which was based on the bestselling novel by Kathryn Stockett.
It was a story that by all rights was significant because of its frank portrayal of racism and yet, garnered its fair share of criticism because many felt that it was a story about racism still being told through a gaze that didn’t truly understand the experiences of black people, particularly women.
And it turns out now that Viola finds herself feeling similarly.
READ MORE: Why Black Buffy needs her own story - not a reboot
Speaking to the New York Times at the Toronto Film Festival recently, Viola responded to a series of questions that readers submitted, one of them which included the questions about roles she’s regretted doing, Variety.com reports.
In the interview she revealed that for her The Help is on the list of the movie roles she regrets. She adds that while she’ll always treasure the experience and forming bonds with the incredible cast, she never truly felt like the voices of the maids were heard.
She adds “I know Aibileen. I know Minny. They’re my grandma.
They’re my mom. And I know that if you do a movie where the whole premise is, I want to know what it feels like to work for white people and to bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie.”
Viola may have regrets about her role, but she’s certainly not the first nor will she be the last actor to feel this way. And truly, sometimes the biggest lessons usually come with hindsight.
Just ask these list of celebs who would probably turn back the time and choose not to star in the following movies:
Halle Berry
If you thought you hated Catwoman, you’re not the only one. Not only did Halle Berry hate the movie, she actually also showed up to the Razzie awards to accept the award and thanked Warner Bros for casting her in this “piece of sh*t, g*d-awful movie.”
There’s even video footage of her accepting the award. Watch below:
Jamie Foxx
Jamie hilariously confessed that he hated Stealth, but because he had to promote it, he often had to say “Yeah, this is the greatest.”
According to E-Online.com, he admitted that it was hard to find good things to say about the film and said that people afterwards would come to him and say “I can’t believe you lied to me like that.”
Katherine Heigl
The former Grey’s Anatomy star upset co-star Seth Rogan and director Judd Apatow when she criticised Knocked Up for being sexist in a move that many have thought to be career suicide for her.
According to US Magazine, Katherine revealed in an interview that she found it very hard to love the movie because she felt that the women were being portrayed as being shrewish, while the men were far more palatable.
Nicole Kidman
If you think the movie we’re about to mention is Eyes Wide Shut, think again. Out of all the roles she’s played, Nicole Kidman hates the movie Australia the most.
According to IndieWire.com, Nicole says that Australia is the one movie that she finds hard to look at and be proud of and that she doesn’t feel any emotional connection to it. This was the movie produced by the same person who brought Moulin Rouge to life.
Mark Wahlberg
I’m laughing at his response to the movie he hated because I remember watching The Happening and thinking when is The Happening going to actually happen?
So yes, we are very glad that Mark thinks the movie is just as bad as we do (side note: critics ripped this movie apart).
He revealed it in an interview when he was chatting to fellow actor Amy Adams about being glad that Amy had dodged a bullet when she wasn't cast. What did he say?
When pressed, he answered: "I don't want to tell you what movie. All right, 'The Happening' man. “F*ck it. F*cking trees, man.”
Sign up to W24’s newsletters so you don't miss out on any of our hot stories and giveaways.