On the verge of international stardom, the talented Viola Davis is getting rave reviews for her performance as Mrs. Miller, a conflicted mother in 'Doubt', which stars Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman and opens on Dec.12. Just recently, Davis won the Breakthrough Performance by an Actress Award from The National Board of Review, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the Critics Choice Awards.

It's 1964, St. Nicholas in the Bronx. A vibrant, charismatic priest, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), is trying to upend the schools' strict customs, which have long been fiercely guarded by Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), the iron-gloved Principal who believes in the power of fear and discipline.

The winds of political change are sweeping through the community, and indeed, the school has just accepted its first black student, Donald Miller. But when Sister James (Amy Adams), a hopeful innocent, shares with Sister Aloysius her guilt-inducing suspicion that Father Flynn is paying too much personal attention to Donald, Sister Aloysius sets off on a personal crusade to unearth the truth and to expunge Flynn from the school. Now, without a shard of proof besides her moral certainty, Sister Aloysius locks into a battle of wills with Father Flynn which threatens to tear apart the community with irrevocable consequence.

John Patrick Shanley brings his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play to the screen as a gripping story about the quest for truth, the forces of change, and the devastating consequences of blind justice in an age defined by moral conviction.

In speaking exclusively with Davis, she spoke about her role, working with Meryl Streep and her upcoming film with Tyler Perry, 'Madea Goes To Jail'.

What attracted you to the role?

Viola Davis: I was attracted to the complexity of the role. I was attracted to the fact she was who she appeared to be. I was attracted the way she was humanized and fully realized. I was attracted to the fact that she was a Black woman and all those things were true about her, that she was a fully realized character. I don't get to play those sorts of roles often and I knew it would be an acting challenge. I was also aware that it would be shot in New York, based on a great play, and John Patrick Shanley and great actors from Meryl Streep to Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams would be involved in it. Everything about the project was perfect.

Had you seen the play when it was on Broadway?

VD: No, I did not. I didn't see it on Broadway. I never even read the play until I campaigned for the role. I was green going into it.

Having not seen the play, had anyone mentioned to you what may have changed in the film?

VD: Not at all. No one had told me anything about it. I just prepared the scene that was in the play actually. That's all I did. I hadn't even seen the screenplay and no one told me about it. I didn't know what to anticipate. I suspected that he (John) was going to open it up but didn't know to what extent. On stage, the whole scene takes place in the office.

Are you friends with Adriane Lenox, who won the Tony Award for the same performance on Broadway?

VD: I am. I know her from New York theater world and she's a fantastic actress and a great singer and performer.

How was working with Meryl Streep?

VD: Meryl Streep is a joy to work with. She invests in your work as much as she invests in her own work. In the acting world, they say that you are only as good as your same partner, and if your partner is holding up to their scene, then you begin to overcompensate. She gives you just as much as she's getting. She comes into the scene 100% ready. She also happens to be a great person and normal. Just normal, kind and funny.

Did you think about the timeframe of the film, the 60s, and how African Americans were treated at the time?

VD: Oh, absolutely. I did my research in terms of what was happening at the time. It was also around the time I was born too so I research Catholicism as well. It was a time period of extraordinary change and right at the cusp of that change and it informed the scene. This is a character that didn't have a lot of choices, which contributed to high the stakes where in the scene. If my son can't make it work here and if he gets thrown out of here, then that's it. It's over. There were no choices back then.

Have you heard about the Oscar buzz for your performance from those who have seen and written about it?

VD: People have been telling me. People have been emailing me things and giving me magazines and reviews.

What's next for you?

VD: I do have a Tyler Perry movie coming up, 'Madea Goes To Jail'. I play an ex-prostitute who is ministering to prostitutes in the streets trying to change their lives. I had so much fun shooting that film in Atlanta.

How was working with Tyler Perry?

VD: He was really respectful. I love working with him. I love the fact that he respected me as an actress and he was very professional and he inspired me because he has his own vision that he pursued outside of Hollywood and he has not let anyone stop him. At this point in my life and my career, that's a huge inspiration to me.

Why should anyone see 'Doubt'?

VD: I think they should go see 'Doubt' because I think the movie makes an incredible statement about this specific time that we are living right now; especially since we elected our first African American president. We are in an economic crisis, and in a war on terrorism and in war with faith. We are in flux there too. I think we are in a time where the religious beliefs system no longer works and we have to be open to change. We have to admit that we don't always know. We have to take a chance in terms of bringing this culture and bringing relationships into the future. I think we have to be brave about that. What worked 20 years ago can't work anymore. This is a new day and a new world.