Ritesh Sharma
In Prime Video’s action thriller film ‘G20,’ Viola Davis delivers a powerhouse performance as US President Danielle Sutton, the most powerful woman in the country who gets caught in the middle of a violent hostage situation during a high-stakes global summit. While her commanding screen presence is never in doubt, what might have taken many people by surprise is the sheer physicality she brought to her role. Known globally for her emotional depth and dramatic intensity, Davis appears noticeably leaner and more muscular in ‘G20,’ tackling several physically demanding combat scenes with ease—including a standout, high-octane sequence set in near-total darkness towards the Patricia Riggen directorial work’s climax!
The Physical Demands of Playing President Danielle Sutton
Viola Davis’ President Danielle Sutton is a woman with nerves of steel who refuses to bow to terror. But beyond the diplomatic poise and moral conviction, this version of the president isn’t confined to giving orders from a safe room. She’s in the thick of the action—grappling with enemies, surviving close-range attacks, and wielding weapons with a controlled fury that feels utterly believable. Such a role didn’t just demand emotional preparation—it required Davis to undergo a full physical transformation. In an interview given to ‘Good Morning America,’ she opened up about her training regimen and the roots of her physical transformation.
Davis explained that her journey didn’t begin with ‘G20’ but actually started years ago, ahead of the production of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2022 action-adventure flick ‘The Woman King.’ And it never really stopped. “What people don’t know about me is that I train anyway,” she said. “Like, I got a lot of muscle there, Michael. I never stopped training after ‘The Woman King,’” the Academy Award winner added. She then went on to explain just how grueling that initial regimen was. “We trained four hours a day, five days a week, for three months—weight training, hand-to-hand combat, everything,” the actress added.
When it came to maintaining her weight, Davis did not lose much. “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,” she explained to The Times. Davis’ trainer, Gabriela Mclain, whom the actress jokingly dubbed “the Lord Voldemort of trainers, the one who cannot be named, the brutalizer,” kept the intensity high. “She just kept it up with the weights, the squats, the punching, all of that. And it was just incredibly gratifying,” the actress added in the same ‘Good Morning America’ interview.
The Action-Packed World of G20 and Viola Davis
‘G20’ is peppered with jaw-dropping sequences, from shooting a terrorist in the kitchen to breaching the security perimeter with a bazooka-wielding escort to fighting in pitch-black silence, relying only on muscle memory and timing. In one particularly visceral moment, Viola Davis’ character climbs onto a helicopter mid-air and punches the main antagonist, Edward Rutledge, after tossing his crypto wallet into the wind—a move that’s both heroic and deeply satisfying. It’s easy to see why her physical transformation became a talking point. Her presence in action sequences isn’t just believable—it’s downright commanding.
What might be even more inspiring than the muscles or the stunts is what Davis said about what this role means. “You know what I saw on film? I saw someone who was capable. And I think it’s really important, especially for young girls of color, to see those images—of someone who doesn’t put any limitations on their body, their acting, themselves,” the actress said while appearing in ‘Good Morning America.’ This statement alone carries more weight than any squat set. In an industry where Black women are often boxed into stereotypes, ‘G20’ gives Viola Davis the reins—literally. She doesn’t play the grieving mother or the helpless bystander. She plays the most powerful woman in the world, who’s not afraid to get her hands dirty to protect what she loves.
