Meryl Streep had the honor of helping to present Viola Davis with her long-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which took place during a ceremony Thursday.
“Ms. Tyson and Ms. Streep were the only actors I talked about back in the day,” Davis told the gathering of family, friends and fans, referring to her childhood in Central Falls, R.I., when she was “just a little girl with a really, really big dream.”
She never imagined that one of those two legendary actresses (her co-star in the 2008 film Doubt would some day honor her with a Hollywood star.
Congratulations to Viola Davis for receiving her Hollywood Walk of Fame star today! It’s truly lit 🔥🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/r2ipXJzgQy
— Geeks Of Color (@GeeksOfColor) January 6, 2017
“That wasn’t part of the dream,” Davis said of Streep’s presence, chuckling. “I feel like this is the best vision board coming to fruition.”
“Ms. Tyson” — as in Cicely — first appeared on young Viola’s radar after seeing her in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman at 6 or 7 years old.
“She looked like me,” Davis reminisced. “Her looking like me made me believe I could do it, but what she did for me was something way beyond entertainment value — it was of transformative value. I felt like if I did that, I could make a life and it could be a beautiful life.”
Now, Tyson plays her on-screen mother in ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder.
Davis’ current role in Fences has already earned her Golden Globe and SAG acting nominations, and follows her Tony Award for the same role in the 2010 Broadway revival.
And don’t forget, Davis is the subject of a new Inside the Actors Studio special on Bravo.
Watch her entire “Walk of Fame” ceremony below:
