It’s been a good year for Viola Davis. She was barely known 12 months ago, but thanks to her Oscar-nominated, powerhouse performance in Doubt, she’s moved way up the Hollywood pecking order, landing roles in high-profile projects life Law Abiding Citizen, the new Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz flick, Knight & Day, and the Julia Robert’s starrer, Eat, Pray Love.
Now she can add a couple more movie to her roster, as Variety reports that she’s signed on to star in It’s Kind Of A Funny Story, as well as David Schwimmer’s new directorial outing, Trust.
Funny Story is the new movie from Half Nelson and Sugar filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and is about a clinically depressed 15-year-old who gains a new lease on life after checking into an adult psychiatric wards and meeting the people there. Davis is due to play the psychiatrist who helps the teen understand his problems. She will star alongside Zach Galifianakis (who’s one of the patients) and Emma Roberts in the movie.
As for Trust, that was only announced last week and will see David Schwimmer leaving comedy behind and directing a story about the parents of a 14-year-old girl who have to deal with the fallout of discovering their teenage daughter has been victimised by an adult who was posing as a fellow teen in an Internet chat room. Clive Owen and Catherine Keener are due to play the parents, while Davis will be the counselor assigned to the girl’s case.
Perhaps after playing a troubled mother in Doubt, Viola now feels the need to redress the balance by playing counselors, but it certainly seems we’ll see a lot of the talented actress helping youngsters in the next year or so.