Sep 27, 2019 at 11:34 am

Viola Davis Tells 'Kimmel' She's 'Terrified' To Play Michelle Obama in Showtime's 'First Ladies'

Viola Davis paid a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday night (September 27), and opened up about being terrified to play former First Lady Michelle Obama in the upcoming series First Ladies!

Season one of the show, which is currently in development at Showtime, is set to focus on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle, the wives of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, and Barack Obama.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Viola Davis

“I’m terrified. I’m absolutely terrified,” Viola confessed to Kimmel. “I don’t care what else I’ve done in my life. I’ve won an Emmy, I won an Oscar, two Tony’s – but if I mess this up, this is going to be a defining moment in my life.”

“It’s like ‘you raised a great kid, but you messed up Michelle Obama’,” Viola joked. “It’s going to be a great script, I promise. I’m not going to mess up. I don’t want to make my people mad.”

Viola Davis also talked about being a terrible driver, the final season of How to Get Away with Murder on ABC, and wearing sneakers to the 2019 Emmys.

“Here’s the thing, I knew I had to present,” she said. “So, I thought I was gonna hobble on stage to the podium and just announce the supporting actor, but then I found out I had to walk through the presentation. I said hell no. I said I will ‘only do it if I can wear sneakers.’”