Viola Davis downplays being most-Oscar-nominated Black actress, calls for inclusivity

Viola Davis has proved herself as a leading woman ten times over, but the 55-year-old actress would rather not stand out in this particular way.

When nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards were announced March 15, Davis's nod for best actress (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) pushed her all-time total to four nominations and made her the most-nominated Black actress in Oscars history.

"The only reason I’m breaking records is that no one has been recognized," the one-time Oscar and Primetime Emmy winner said for Variety's "Awards Circuit Podcast." "That 'honor' is a sort of limited honor. The problem is with the moviemaking business itself, not the awards. You cannot nominate anyone for awards if there are no films being made."

Davis added elsewhere in the conversation: "It's so hard to get films made that don’t fit a certain box of how they see us. Inclusivity cannot be a hashtag. You've got to write roles for people of color that are culturally specific—that is just as thought out as our white counterparts' roles, to get to the point of excellence, so that we can be considered for awards. But a lot of time with inclusivity, it's a second thought. We're the leftovers."

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom stars Davis as the titular character, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, who was nicknamed the "Mother of Blues" for her work in the 1920s. The Netflix drama also starred Chadwick Boseman—his final role before passing last August from a four-year bout with colon cancer—Colman Domingo, Glynn Thurman, Taylour Paige, and more. Boseman is posthumously nominated for best leading actor, and Ma Rainey's has five Oscar nominations overall.