Viola Davis, a luminous triple threat who has conquered the stage, film, and television, has one major career regret. It’s so strong that when asked in a New York Times interview whether there are any roles she regrets passing up, Davis re-framed the question, speaking instead about a role that she actually regrets having done—that of Aibileen Clark in The Help. The problem wasn’t the part itself, she stressed; it was how the film, a 1960s-set drama about a white woman (Emma Stone) writing a book about local black maids (one of whom is played by Davis), focused more on white voices than black ones.
“Almost a better question is, have I ever done roles that I’ve regretted? I have, and The Help is on that list,” Davis said. “But not in terms of the experience and the people involved because they were all great. The friendships that I formed are ones that I’m going to have for the rest of my life. I had a great experience with these other actresses, who are extraordinary human beings. And I could not ask for a better collaborator than Tate Taylor.”
Why, then does Davis regret the project? “I just felt that at the end of the day that it wasn’t the voices of the maids that were heard. I know Aibileen. I know Minny [played by Octavia Spencer, who won a best-supporting-actress Oscar]. They’re my grandma. They’re my mom. And I know that if you do a movie where the whole premise is, I want to know what it feels like to work for white people and to bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie.”
Davis was nominated herself for her heartrending portrayal of Aibileen, in the best-lead-actress category. But The Help, based on the Kathryn Stockett novel of the same name, largely revolves around Stone’s character, a bright post-grad named Skeeter who sets about interviewing maids like Aibileen and Minny for a book. As a whole, The Help centralizes its white characters, including two housewives played by Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain. At the time of its release, the feature was criticized for playing into a classic white savior narrative, inspiring headlines like “How Racist Is The Help?” Per critic Wesley Morris, the film also served as yet “another Hollywood movie that sees racial progress as the province of white do-gooderism. Skeeter enjoys all the self-discovery and all the credit.”
Another person who took issue with the film? Ablene Cooper, the real nanny who worked for Stockett family and inspired the character Davis would eventually play. She filed a $75,000 lawsuit against the author after the movie adaptation came out, claiming her likeness was used without her permission and that the portrayal was “embarrassing.” Cooper was also displeased with the way the book characterized black maids. The suit was eventually dismissed by a Mississippi judge.
So, Davis isn’t alone in her criticism of The Help. That said, the movie was a blockbuster success and a turning point for many of its stars—including Spencer, who won her first Oscar, and Chastain, who quickly became a household name. It was also a hit for Davis, one of her biggest film roles since her all too brief Oscar-nominated turn in Doubt. But it might have been nice if The Help had actually centered on, you know, the women who inspired its title.
