The Insider.com

Viola Davis has won two Tony Awards, will most likely add another Oscar nomination to her tally on January 24 and is widely considered to be one of the best actors of her generation.

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Viola Davis - Best Dressed at The Golden Globes

But given her wide variety of roles on stage (King Hedley II, Fences, Intimate Apparel) and screen (The Help, Traffic, Doubt), I was shocked to learn that her favorite performance was in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

While chatting with The Hollywood Reporter, Viola revealed, "One of my favorite roles I've ever played was a serial killer. I appreciated killing a whole family with a baseball bat."

Chatting with The Help's Secret Weapon

But not many other people appreciated it, as she added. "I remember when I played the character in Doubt, it was a character that not a lot of black people embraced because they didn't like her. I think women face that in general -- a lot more than men, [but] black women really face it."

"We are always overly sanctified in movies, overly nurturing, overly sympathetic. To find that place where you're messy, it's difficult. Sometimes, someone's junk is someone else's treasure. That was my treasure."

Watch Viola's treasure below from a 2002 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.