Viola Davis has spent her entire promotional run talking about how Fences, and August Wilson, are important to her especially because they celebrate and embody the life of the average person. And she, perhaps better than any other actor in Hollywood, has the chops to embody the quiet, subtle emotion that average people shoulder without fanfare every day; and so while it’s no surprise that Davis finally won an Academy Award for her powerful performance in Fences, it is surprising that this is her first.