(CNN)For those wondering, yes, even one of America’s most decorated modern day actresses still gets butterflies when she steps into a new role, especially when she’s playing one of the most famous women in American history.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Oscar-winner Viola Davis said the role of former first lady Michelle Obama in Showtime’s upcoming limited series The First Lady “comes with a huge amount of angst.”
“You don’t want to offend them with your portrayal,” she said during a panel for the show at the Television Critics Association press tour.
Obama is one of three First Ladies portrayed in the series. It also stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt in roles that are sure to garner attention in the upcoming Emmy season.
As the only actress to play a living first lady on the show, Davis was asked if she felt extra pressure knowing Obama might see her work. Davis said she not only acknowledges that fact, but “it keeps you up at night.”
Davis added, “This is what we live for as artists.”
“It’s a big exercise to let go and it’s a great exercise to change,” she said. “But to answer the question: Te-rri-fying.”
As Obama, Davis’ challenge was not only to capture the woman that people saw on camera, but also to bring her essence into the performance.
In her experience with Obama, Davis said she was struck by her “sense of worth” and “sense of belonging.”
“[She] seemed like a rooted tree, a rooted oak tree,” she said. “Nothing about her felt secondary, that she was the woman behind the man. She absolutely came across as a person who has confidence.”
Davis added, “Barack doesn’t make her someone; she was someone from the moment she came out of her mother’s womb.”
The stories told in The First Lady by executive producers Cathy Schulman (Crash) and Susanne Bier (The Undoing) span 120 years but have threads that narratively tie the stories together.
It premieres April 17 at 9pm ET/PT on Showtime.
Add Comment