Alfre Woodard is what Viola Davis wishes she could be

Alfre Woodward is even more hideous than Viola.

I’ve loved Alfre since the ‘80s. We’ll see if Viola can sustain her career for 40 years.

LA LAW 2 hour premier episode featured Alfre and she hit a grand slam out of the theatrical and emotional ballpark. Memorable performance and she won the Emmy for best guest star

Alfre Woodard is always flawless.

With what leading roles?

I thought Alfre was wonderful in Cross Creek and especially Passionfish.

I like her SO MUCH MORE than that annoying Viola.

Poor Viola.

As a child, I always mixed up Ms. Woodard with CCH Pounder. And by child, I mean early 20’s.

Also loved Alfre in Crooklyn

Alfreee

Alfre was excellent in Clemency a few years ago. There was Oscar buzz but the studio that released the film messed up her chances. She should have been nominated.

Viola isn't fit to even clean Alfre's toilets.

In her prime, Alfre was a sexy, exotic Earth Mother. Even now she’s attractive for an older lady. Viola is a good actress but a different type.

I am the FIRST LADY, bitch op!

What is the weird obsession here with Viola Davis?

Late 90s I was living in WEHO and working in Brentwood. One day on my way home I stopped in Whole Foods for something and immediately after I walked in the door I thought to myself "someone is here". A couple of minutes later, I turned down the produce aisle and there was Alfre Woodard in a pastel silk suit, every inch of her looking like royalty. She was surrounded by a multigenerational group of relatives and yet managed to come across as both relatable and regal.

My jaw must have dropped a bit because she smiled slightly and nodded at me as we passed.

Excuse me, while I cackle my vaginal mesh off.

Gross Angela.

My favorite Alfre Woodard performance was in Primal Fear. A small role, she plays a judge who takes no mess. Alfre's performance put across the character's annoyance and alcoholism. Whenever I think of her, she's licking her lips, holding some brown juice in her hands and taking Richard Gere down a peg. She can't wait for him to leave her chambers so she can crunch her ice and fill her shot-glass to the rim.

She was good as a young doctor on St Elsewhere.

Woodard, like Sissy Spacek is almost always better than her material and like Spacek's more recent career, she has to make the best of small roles. When she has a big part in a good film like Passion Fish, she's outstanding and truly memorable.

Davis is a fine actress in her own right. I saw her in "Raisin in the Sun" and she really kept it from being ruined by Denzel Washington playing to his bus tour fans in the balcony.

Alfre even managed to make "Star Trek: First Contact" an Academy Award winning performance!

And up against Patrick Stewart, no less.

This video link has more comments about Alfre's stunning performance at R22.

Alfre is good in everything, even when the material is mediocre. Viola is hit and miss.

I adore Alfre. She has those expressive and downright beautiful eyes which can just do it all. Her eyes emote and add to the timbre of her voice when she acts in a glorious (Datalounge Mary forewarning) manner which is almost musical in scope. As you can see it's hard to describe Alfre's gift's with acting.

Viola truly came up hard. I assume she's not fibbing a bit about that. She has a great voice and figure as well as a lovely head of hair. She films easily. She also obviously studied quite diligently as a child in order to go to College herself since she grew up in abject poverty and had demented lunatics for parents. When she's good, she's incredible but she's just not as natural on film as Alfre.

They're both success stories. Self made all the way for sure. But, Alfre is the one who's personable and never pretentious. I would dare say most anyone would want to hang out with her over Viola.

Loretta Devine is like Alfre. Just more private is all. She's a workhorse who will audition for a part if need be. I dig her. She was one of the original "Dreamgirls", right? She did a movie with Alfre and I'm blanking on the title but they both just naturally kicked ass with both their parts like nothing.

R21. Especially impressive that she was performing “Raisin in the Sun” when the play was “Fences.”

I have more sympathy for Viola than most Dataloungers seem to, even though she can certainly be obnoxious at times. It's possible to acknowledge your struggles and fight unfairness without allowing it to overpower your positive qualities, and Viola could work on that balance. On the other hand, I enjoy much of her work. I like to make fun of her attitude (and her Michelle Obama caricature) but have no desire to see her entirely humbled/failing like some seem to. Alfre is simply brilliant, and I'd love to see more of her.

She was good in "Miss Firecracker".

Viola is a HACK.

I don't think she would receive as much vitriol as she does, if she wasn't such a bitch about everything.

Come on, Viola is Davis not a hack. She’s humourless and quite a damaged person, but she’s diligent and talented.

She doesn’t get it right every time - her peak performance modes are snot-flowing self-pity and borderline murderous aggression - but to suggest she’s a hack is missing the point entirely.

I went to Boston University with Alfre way back in the early 1970s. She was starring in school shows in her freshman year, a brilliant actress even then. And a lovely intelligent woman, too. Love her!

Viola is talented but... she's insufferable. She takes herself too seriously. I wish she would try to show a bit more range. Do a comedy.

I will always love Alfre Woodard for so many roles. Probably my all-time favorite was as the hilariously patient hotel PR director in Robert Altman's HEALTH, which was the first time I ever took notice of her.

It really takes a superb actress to steal a film away from the likes of Carol Burnett, Lauren Bacall, Glenda Jackson, and James Garner, but she did.

[quote] Loretta Devine is like Alfre. Just more private is all. She's a workhorse who will audition for a part if need be. I dig her. She was one of the original "Dreamgirls", right?

I love Loretta!

Her role as Missouri Moseley in "Supernatural" was iconic, for fans of the show.

Alfre can do drama and comedy with ease. Viola can’t do warmth like Alfre can (see her Michelle Obama) either. They have very different backgrounds though. I think Alfre grew up middle/upper middle class in Tulsa and went to a nice catholic high school where she was popular. Viola grew up in poverty and had a unstable home life.

Alfre went by LaWanda until college.

Why do you have to pit them against each other? They are both talented

[quote] Alfre went by LaWanda until college.

That's interesting.

I wonder where the name "Alfre" came from.

I like it. It's very unique and interesting.

Alfre seems humble unlike Viola. I suspect Viola probably has resentment towards Angela Bassett because Angela is considered to be still sexy while Viola isn't in that category.

Makes sense that she changed her name. She doesn't seem like a LaWanda. A former colleague of mine went from the plain Linda to the more exotic Lydia, which fit her better. Some people just "know".

R38 Viola regularly brings up how she resents the fact that the black women considered sexy in Hollywood are lighter-skinned and have more European features like Halle Berry and Kerry Washington and how she doesn't fit that mold. She forgets that Angela Bassett doesn't fit that mold either but she's still considered drop dead gorgeous. Viola just needs to accept that she's never going to be a beauty queen and is better suited for character roles.