Many young women were exposed to the feminine strength of Diana Prince in 2017's Wonder Woman, amongst the heavy dose of male superheroes usually overpowering the box office. But in the late '70s, she also had a similarly empowering effect on females, when Lynda Carter portrayed the character in the Wonder Woman television series. This includes none other than the immensely talented Viola Davis, who considers the hero an idol of hers-- recently admitting that she has a slight obsession with the princess of Themyscira. Here's what she said about the iconic superhero:
When the TV show came out I was twelve years old and I just hadn't seen anything like it in my life. I mean, as soon as the going got tough you saw this woman who was seemingly demure and sweet and beautiful and all of that. She could transform into this superhero and just get the job done. It wasn't about her trading in her femininity or her intelligence, she wasn't vindictive towards other women, she was just her. And the lasso and the bulletproof bracelets, I mean that sort of super human power associated with being a girl...I had never seen anything like it. I'm still the 12-year old girl. I try to talk her off of the ledge every once in a while but I'm still the 12-year old girl.
It was during an interview with Variety that Viola Davis, whilst holding a Wonder Woman comic book mug, revealed her love for the hero. With her upcoming crime drama Widows soon coming to theaters, Davis explained how she channeled Diana Prince while playing her character Veronica Rawlins in the Steve McQueen film. In Widows, Veronica's husband along with his crew steal $2 million while on a job but are killed as a result. Dealing with the grief of losing her husband and a pair of criminals who come to haunt her for a debt left by him, she decides to recruit the other three widows to complete the plans on her husband's next job.
While Widows isn't a superhero flick, Viola Davis said that Veronica uses into her own powers such as that of persuasion, tapping into her anger and healing from grief to take on the criminals she must face. Veronica's story is one of female empowerment as the four widows team up and take back control of the vulnerable situation they are suddenly cornered into.
Viola Davis has played a DCEU character of her own when she portrayed Amanda Waller in 2016's Suicide Squad. Since crossovers and cameos within the superhero universe happen all the time, it's possible that Amanda Waller and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman could share the screen down the line, and Davis wouldn't miss a chance to work alongside her idol. You can soon see Davis' Wonder Woman inspired performance in Widows, which hits theaters November 16.
