Viola Davis has detailed the gym routine she committed to in preparation to shoot high energy action sequences in Patricia Riggen’s new thriller G20.
The Doubt star, 59, plays fearless US president Danielle Sutton, in the forthcoming film, which sees the politician defend her loved ones and other world leaders after the G20 summit is hijacked by terrorists.
Davis described herself as a “woman of a certain age” and admitted that, despite loving the movie’s more physical scenes, she “sometimes complained” about shooting the gruelling fight sequences.
In order to train for the physically taxing role, the star of The Help maintained the same weight lifting routine she adopted when prepping for The Woman King, in which she played a 19th century African general.
Speaking to The Times, she explained: “I’m not one of those women who is afraid to look muscular, and I don’t believe in losing a whole lot of weight so I can be magazine-ready.
“There’s still a part of me that wants to represent real life,” Davis continued. “I wanted to look capable, a leader who’s willing to jump through the plate glass first.”
For The Woman King, Davis worked with personal trainer Gabriela Mclain, who curated a routine focused on building strength – not losing weight.
Davis began eating five protein-rich meals per day and was required to drink one gallon of water to keep her muscles lubricated and aid recovery, per Harper’s Bazaar.
The actor trained for a minimum of five hours a day in the three months leading up to pre-production, which included an hour of running, two hours of martial arts, and two hours of strength training.
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This strength training, consisting of oblique twists, shoulder presses, squats, lateral rows and bicycle crunches and chest presses, is what Davis carried through with her to G20 training.
Davis reveals she even had to trade blows with the hulking District 9 actor David James, who plays a terrorist. “Six-year-old Viola squealed,” the star said of the moment.
Elsewhere in the interview, Davis said that President Sutton’s political party isn’t specified in G20 to avoid alienating Democrats or Republicans.
“If you get down to the nitty gritty we just wanna reach people,” the actor said, adding the film was made before Kamala Harris lost to Trump in the 2024 election.
She maintained: “I do not think it’s a suspension of disbelief to imagine someone who looks like me as the president.”