Anthony Anderson is spilling all the tea on the hilarious working dynamic between he and Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis in their new action thriller, “G20.” And what he has to say will more than likely crack you up.
Described as “ass-kicking on a different level,” the newly released Prime Video film sees Davis as Madame President who calls together the top world leaders for the annual G20 summit. When the meeting comes under siege, she must outsmart the enemy to protect her family, defend her country and safeguard all the attendees.
Speaking to The Root on the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere for the film ahead of its release on Thursday, Anderson—who plays Davis’ husband a.k.a. the First Gentleman—told us that while working with Davis was great, there was one rule he had to abide by while they were filming.
“I’ve worked with Oscar-winners before, Tony winners before—I’ve never worked with an EGOT before,” he said. “She made me call her ‘EGOT’ everyday. She did. I was like ‘hey Viola’ and she went ‘it’s not Viola to you Anthony, it’s EGOT.’ [I was like] OK, ma’am. You got it!”
In case you didn’t know, EGOT is the title given to actors who received a rare Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award wins. When asked whether was Anderson said was true or not, Davis jokingly clarified in a separate talk with Good Morning America: “No, it was ‘Madame President EGOT.”
Rules aside though, the “Blackish” star made it clear to us that collaborating with Davis and seeing her work ethic and how she pushed through the pain of filming (which was extremely physical in nature) “invigorated me to show up so I could show out for her in this film.”
Additionally, Davis also stopped by The Root to chat about the similarities she has with all her badass characters including playing the president in this film, Amanda Waller from the “Suicide Squad” franchise, Nanisca from “The Woman King” and Annalise Keating from “How to Get Away With Murder.”
“What we all have in common is that we all maybe have a hard shell but a soft inside. Very vulnerable and maybe that’s what attracts me to all of them, that sort of vulnerability,” she told The Root.
She later added at the premiere, “We wanted to make a film that showed that there is no limit, no obstacles in what I am capable of doing. As a woman, as a woman of color, as a woman of a certain age, this is a testament to our ability.”
“G20,” starring Davis, Anderson, Marsai Martin, Antony Starr, Christopher Farrar and more is available to stream now on Prime Video.