After a much-deserved Screen Actors Guild Awards win for Best Female Actor in a Drama Series, actress Viola Davis went backstage to spit some truth about Hollywood's diversity problem. Davis, who plays ruthless lawyer Annalise Keating on the award-winning How to Get Away with Murder, has been incredibly vocal about the lack of opportunities afforded to actors of color.
"Diversity is not a trending topic," the Oscar-nominated actress said. "It's just not. I've always considered myself an actor since I got my equity card in 1988. I've never put any limitations on myself. I felt like I can play Chekhov — any character in Chekhov — in Shakespeare, in Miller, in August Wilson."
The Lila & Eve star also expressed how proud she is of other actors of color—including fellow winners Idris Elba, Queen Latifah, and Uzo Aduba—for never limiting themselves as thespians.
"All of the actors of color that I know don't place any limitations on themselves either," Davis said. "Regardless of what is going on with the Academy, regardless of what is going on in Hollywood, they will find a way to be excellent. We always have and we always will."
The Help star is one of several actors, including Jada Pinkett-Smith and Mark Ruffalo, who has expressed displeasure about the lack of diversity at the 2016 Oscars.
When asked about the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences nominating only white actors for all of its major acting categories, Davis told Entertainment Tonight that "The problem is not with the Oscars. The problem is with the Hollywood movie-making system."
