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Michelle Obama says she’s thrilled Viola Davis will play her in The First Lady: ‘I feel that I’m not worthy’

Michelle Obama says she's thrilled Viola Davis will play her in The First Lady
Michelle Obama is loving the fact Viola Davis will play her in The First Lady (Picture: Getty)

Michelle Obama has made it clear she is delighted with the news Viola Davis will be playing her in the upcoming series, The First Lady.

The Oscar-winning actress has signed on to bring some of Michelle’s story to the small screen in Showtime’s new anthology series, and the former First Lady couldn’t be happier.

In fact, Michelle seems to think that she hasn’t achieved enough in her life to give the record-breaking actress the chance to give an amazing performance.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, she called Viola ‘the greatest’ and stated: ‘I feel that I’m not worthy. I wish I could be better to live up to the character that Viola has to play, but it’s exciting.

‘Anything Viola does, she does it with passion and vigor, and I know she will do no less for this role.’

Meanwhile, Viola previously said she was feeling ‘a little scared’ about taking on the role.

Viola Davis
Viola has said she wants to ‘honor’ Michelle with her work in the upcoming series (Picture: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

The 55-year-old actress said: ‘She’s smart. She’s confident. She’s articulate. She believes in sisterhood. I wanna honor her. I wanna honor her with this portrayal because that’s what the drama is.

‘That’s what we do as actors, we want to honour the human being. We don’t want to give a portrayal that isn’t easy for people to swallow.’

Expected to ‘peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives’ of past First Ladies, according to Variety, the show will steer clear of the West Wing and instead focus on the East, ‘where many of history’s most impactful and world changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic First Ladies.’

The anthology is also expected to focus on Betty Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt.

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