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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
Entertainment
Jami Ganz

Viola Davis was ‘stressed’ portraying Michelle Obama in ‘The First Lady’: ‘I’m glad it’s over’

The role of a lifetime gave Viola Davis enough anxiety for a lifetime.

The Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner, 56, is more worried than excited for the world to see her take on Michelle Obama when “The First Lady” hits Showtime this weekend.

“I’m glad it’s over,” the “Fences” star admitted while appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Monday, citing “the stress.”

“Everybody likes — loves — Michelle Obama,” said Davis. “They know what she sounds like, they know what she looks like.”

But more than disappointing viewers, Davis fears disappointing the former first lady herself.

“I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t want Michelle Obama calling me, cussing me out.’ I mean, that’s the kind of thing where you just have to prostate yourself on the floor and go, ‘OK, Michelle, I messed up,’” Davis, who also served as producer, laughed. “I’m hiding from Michelle. ... I’m hiding in my house.”

If renewed, the series — which also sees Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson play Betty Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt, respectively — Davis hopes to see other first ladies taking center stage

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