Viola Davis and Emma Stone React to Their Oscar Wins

CF Blog | Feb 27

The 89th Academy Awards celebrated the work of numerous Hollywood talents over the weekend at the Dolby Theatre. Among those honored were the extraordinary actresses Viola Davis and Emma Stone. Both women reacted to their wins backstage, giving us a glimpse of their individual journeys which ultimately lead to winning the highest esteemed awards in the industry.

Viola Davis' portrayal of Rose in Fences earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The film follows an African-American family in 1950's Pittsburg. By winning this award, she became the first African-American to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting: winning an Emmy, Tony, and Oscar in acting categories. Davis was overcome with gratitude as she reflected on her first Academy win, saying, "I can't believe my life...I grew up in poverty. You know, I grew up in apartments that were condemned and rat-infested. And I just always sort of wanted to be somebody. I just wanted to be good at something. So this is sort of like the miracle of God of dreaming big and just hoping that it sticks and it lands--and it did. Who knew? So, I'm overwhelmed."

In her Oscar speech, Davis passionately expressed her desire to tell the stories "of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost." Portraying Rose was a great example of telling such stories.

Delving into the theme of following aspirations, La La Land's theme centers on the importance of following your dreams despite the certainty of encountering many obstacles. The film won a whopping six Oscars over the weekend including honoring its star, Emma Stone, for Best Actress. Backstage at the Oscars, Stone explained how she always dreamed of winning an Oscar, calling it an "incredible honor" and "in many ways game changing." In regards to playing aspiring actress Mia Dolan, Emma said, "To play this woman, I've lived here for thirteen years, I moved when I was 15 to start auditioning. And I knew what it felt like to go on audition after audition. So I mean anything like this [winning the Oscar] is pretty inconceivable in a realistic context."

Ruth Negga's Drive to Tell Stories'

CF Blog | Feb 25

2016 proved to be quite a year for Ruth Negga. Although the Ethiopian-Irish actress has been acting for 15 years, she's now being hailed as a rising star. Negga was praised for her breakout role as the gun-toting Tulip O'Hare on AMC's Preacher based on the American comic book series. And she was widely celebrated for her portrayal of sweet, soft-spoken Mildred Loving in the historical drama film Loving about the landmark case Loving v. Virginia which invalidated state laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Indeed, Ruth's Loving performance has earned her best actress nominations for several awards shows including the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.

"I don't think I have ever thought of myself as a movie star, I think when I was about seven, I thought it must be lovely to have an Oscar. But the more involved you are in this business, the more that pretense disappears, and you really get to see what you love about it, and what I love is working," the 36-year-old star once said.

Negga's love for storytelling has served her well. Although born in Ethiopia, her family moved to Ireland early on, and the traditions of her new home inspired her. "I fell in love with storytelling. Ireland has a very rich storytelling history. I wanted to be a part of that," the actress told CNN. As a teenager, her mom would bring her to the theater which sparked Ruth's desire to act. "That's how I want to be part of this world. I want to tell stories with, you know, my body and my mind," she said.

Negga feels energized with each of her roles, and she is often described as a chameleon because of her remarkable ability to transform into her characters. "There's an element of, that delicious feeling of disappearing into something else and to a different world. It's a bit like 'Alice in Wonderland' really--disappearing down the rabbit hole. And anything can happen in storytelling. And I think it's a safe way to take risks as a human being--you know being an actor--because it's a very closely monitored sort of situation. So I think you know maybe essentially, it's because I'm a scaredy cat," she revealed.