Viola Davis is never to be upstaged when it comes to impressing her daughter.
In fact, the Woman King star—who shares Genesis, 14, with husband Julius Tennon—once competed with her daughter’s nanny for cool points after being asked to get into a helicopter while doing promo for her latest action film G20.
“I said, ‘I’m not getting in the helicopter,’” the EGOT said during Late Night with Seth Meyers airing April 11. “But at the same time, I’ve jumped out of a plane, what kind of sense does that make?”
“I did it because we were on a big vacation and my nanny came, Molly,” Viola, 59, explained. “Beautiful girl, and Molly jumped out of the plane and my daughter said, ‘Molly is so brave. Molly jumped out of the plane. And I love molly.’ And I was like, ‘F–k Molly. Mama, can jump out of the plane.’”
Never to be outdone in front of her own kid, the How to Get Away with Murder alum, revealed that she went the extra mile to impress her teen.
“So, I strapped on, and I said, ‘I’m going up there,’” she quipped. “And as soon as I got up there, I was like, ‘What the hell was I thinking?’”
Viola and Julius—who got married in 2003—adopted Genesis in 2011. Though she has remained largely out of the spotlight, she made a rare red carpet appearance alongside her parents at the Los Angeles premiere of G20 March 27.
After watching the film—where Viola plays the president of the United States forced to physically defend her country and family after terrorist take over the G20 summit—Genesis had a newfound respect for her mother—whom she referred to as “The Goat.”
“My daughter is a harsh critic. My daughter doesn’t care,” Viola said on Good Morning America April 7. “But she was so excited. She kept saying, ‘Oh my goodness, you’re GOAT’ed mama.’ And she cried, she laughed.”
“I loved being a hero to my teenage daughter,” Viola continued. “Because usually in these teenage years they become zombies, and you become anything other than a hero. But her sitting there watching me like that, it was everything.”
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