LOS ANGELES, April 9 (Reuters) - For Viola Davis, seeing

her first images of a "badass Black woman on television" when

she was growing up became an inspiration for her role as the

U.S. president in the thriller film "G20."

The 1974 American crime drama series "Get Christie Love!"

starring Teresa Graves as an undercover detective immediately

captivated Davis.

"Whenever she would arrest someone, she was like 'You're

under arrest, baby!,' and I was like 'Oh my God! Oh my

goodness!' and she would throw men off balconies," Davis told

Reuters.

"When you see it, you can believe it. When you see it, you

can see yourself in it and there's something about being seen

that forces you to see yourself," she added.

"G20," which arrives on Amazon Prime Video on

Thursday, is directed by Mexican director Patricia Riggen and

follows Davis' character U.S. President Danielle Sutton, who

protects her family and other world leaders when a G20 summit in

Cape Town, South Africa is infiltrated by terrorists.

The movie also stars Anthony Anderson as Danielle's husband

and first gentleman Derek Sutton, "black-ish" actor Marsai

Martin as their daughter Serena Sutton, and Christopher Farrar

as their son Demetrius Sutton.

Davis specifically requested Anderson to play her movie

husband because of their close bond.

"We've always had a great relationship, just in the same

network, traveling in the same circles, having the same

friends," Anderson said.

However, both Davis and Anderson admitted that their biggest

bonding experiences came from collecting free items together at

gifting suites.

"I didn't want to mention that. We like the free stuff,"

said Davis, triggering a fit of laughter from both of the

actors.

Another thing about the movie that amused Davis was thinking

about how her younger self would be ecstatic to see her playing

the role of Danielle.

"That 6-year-old Viola has been serving me. My job is to

make her squeal. My job is to make her really excited about who

she's going to become," Viola said.

Davis is known for her EGOT status, which stands for a

winner of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, and is one of

the highest honors for a performer in Hollywood.