Viola Davis Says It Was 'Temporary Insanity' That She Said Yes To Michelle Obama Role in 'The First Lady'

Viola Davis is opening up about her upcoming role as Michelle Obama in Showtime series, The First Lady.

The 55-year-old actress was cast as the wife of the 44th President in the upcoming show that is described as “a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.”

Previously, Michelle reacted to the news of Viola‘s casting, saying that she feels “that I’m not worthy…Anything Viola does, she does it with passion and vigor, and I know she will do no less for this role.”

During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Viola says that taking the role was part of “temporary insanity. I lost my damn mind for about five minutes, and I made a decision I can’t take back.”

Then, she also returned the praise Michelle gave to her.

“The woman is a damn goddess. Everybody knows her. Everybody feels like they want to protect her. Here’s the thing: I’m just going to do the best I can,” Viola adds, and revealed that she has spoken to Michelle for many hours about portraying her on screen.

“It’s terrifying,” Viola said. “Here’s the thing — Sometimes, someone doesn’t live up to whatever image you have of them in your head. But when they do live up to the image, it’s quite frightening.”

See the full list of actresses who will be playing First Ladies in The First Lady here…