Your internal dialogue has got to be different from what you say. And, you know, in film, hopefully that registers and speaks volumes. It's always the unspoken word and what's happening behind someone's eyes that makes it so rich.

Davis was nominated for several awards for this performance including a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was involved in the federal TRIO Upward Bound and TRIO Student Support Services programs. In August 2011 Davis played the role of Aibileen Clark in the screen adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel The Help directed by Tate Taylor.

Beginning her career on the stage Davis won a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for her role in August Wilson's King Hedley II (2001). Her eleven-minute-long performance in the film adaptation of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt (2008) earned several honors including an Academy Award nomination.