VIOLA DAVIS - DAVIS DESPERATE TO SHED WEIGHT BEFORE OSCARS

DAVIS DESPERATE TO SHED WEIGHT BEFORE OSCARS

Actress VIOLA DAVIS is desperate to lose weight before Sunday's (22Feb09) Academy Awards, because she was so "stressed" starring opposite MERYL STREEP in new movie DOUBT, she piled on an extra 20 pounds (9.1 kilograms).
Davis beat TV queen Oprah Winfrey to land a role in the critically-acclaimed film, which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress last month (22Jan09).
But the Tony Award winner admits the anxiety of appearing opposite her idol, Streep, caused her to over eat - and she's put herself on a strict diet to prepare for the star-studded ceremony.
She tells the New York Post, "I'd never solicited myself for any role before. I did for this. To be an African-American actress in a scene with Meryl Streep?! Through the grapevine, I heard every black actress in captivity was coming out of the woodwork.
"But boy, did I look crappy in this movie. From stress I gained 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms). I ate bagels, cream cheese, crap. If Meryl offered a doughnut, I took it. Chocolate? I took that, too."
And Davis confesses it isn't the first time she has shown physical signs of stress.
She adds, "I'm 43. At 30, I won a Tony for King Hedley II. From that nervousness, I lost my hair. Another time when I was nominated I lost all my hair. Clean as a baby's butt. I needed wigs, cortisone injections. And now with all the parties and wine and cheese, I have to watch myself. Can't be going bald and shovelling it in with all those skinny-a** gorgeous girls at the Oscars."