VIOLA DAVIS

The How to Get Away With Murder star and Fences Oscar winner heads to the White House in the real-life role of Michelle Obama in The First Lady (April 17 on Showtime). The series spotlights some of history’s most important decisions made by our first ladies.

How much pressure is there when you play a woman so important to history? It’s absolutely not the same as approaching any other character; it’s so specific. Everybody has claimed ownership of Michelle Obama. They feel like they own her. So I’m not going to lie: I was terrified.

How daunting was it thinking, Mrs. Obama might watch this? Not only does it come to mind, but it also keeps you up at night. As much as we feel like we know Michelle Obama—and I did everything I possibly could to research—still, in those private moments, there is some level of creative decision-making that you have to make [and] hope that I’m not insulting her with it, and that’s what you have to navigate as an artist.

What struck you about Mrs. Obama when you met her? First of all, her height! Her sense of worth, her sense of belonging that seemed like a rooted oak tree. She absolutely seemed like a person with a sense of self, someone who was someone from the moment she came out of her mom’s womb.

Do you think there are any similarities between Mrs. Obama and you? We are both Black women, both darkskinned Black women. That’s a very, very specific journey.

Who are some of the strong women who inspired you? I had so many—Cicely Tyson, Fannie Lou Hamer, civil right activists. And I would have to say [my mom] Mary Alice Davis. As I move through my life, it’s really interesting how much my mom moves to the front of the line.

WHAT WAS THE EASIEST PART OF GETTING INTO CHARACTER AS MICHELLE OBAMA? GO TO PARADE.COM/DAVIS TO FIND OUT.