TV 'Holy s---': Viola Davis reflects on the weight of playing Michelle Obama in The First Lady "I didn't feel like I could approach it like any other character," the actress says of playing the former first lady on the new Showtime drama. By Patrick Gomez Patrick Gomez Patrick Gomez is an Executive Editor at Entertainment Weekly. Formerly at People magazine and The A.V. Club, the Critics Choice and Television Critics Association member has appeared on 'Today,' 'Extra!,' 'Access Hollywood,' 'E! News,' 'CNN,' and 'Nightline,' and can be seen frequently on 'Good Morning America.' Follow the Texas Native at @PatrickGomezLA wherever your media is social for all things 'For All Mankind' 'Top Chef,' and puppy related. EW's editorial guidelines Published on April 16, 2022 11:00AM EDT On her first day of shooting The First Lady, Viola Davis felt she had a lot in common with her character, Michelle Obama . "My first day was a scene where we arrived at the White House and we drove up and we walked in and there was me, Viola, in the back going, 'Holy s---' at just the shift and the change and the enormity of it all," the new Showtime drama star tells EW of being a bit overwhelmed. "It was a good introduction into Michelle and Barack's administration." "It definitely is not like any other job, because we're playing iconic characters that people have ownership of, people know," Davis continues during EW's latest Around the Table video, which she filmed with costars Michelle Pfeiffer, Gillian Anderson, Kiefer Sutherland, and Dakota Fanning. "I mean, with Michelle Obama anyway, they know how she talks, how she walks, how she wears her hair, the different incarnations of her eyebrows ... I didn't feel like I could approach it like any other character." O-T Fagbenle as Barack Obama and Viola Davis as Michelle Obama in 'The First Lady'. Jackson Lee Davis/SHOWTIME But the actress found joy in her scenes with O-T Fagbenle, who stars as Barack Obama. "I love playing the levity of their relationship and the fun," says Davis. "I love that they have a good marriage. I've played a lot of tortured souls, and tortured marriages, and tortured relationships. So it was great to be in the midst of this monumental position. But the friendship I felt they had and shared — and the respect that Barack has for Michelle — it was a joy to play," she continues. "When they're in bed, the fun, the playfulness, the dancing. And then when she's got to move in and it's like she says, 'There were times when I wanted to throw Barack out the window.' " To hear more from the cast of the new Showtime series, check out the full Around the Table interview. The First Lady airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET starting April 17. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson become FLOTUS in The First Lady trailer Get a first look at Viola Davis as Michelle Obama in Showtime's The First Lady The Handmaid's Tale star O-T Fagbenle cast as Barack Obama in Showtime's The First Lady