See all the photos from EW's 2021 Oscars issue cover shoots

With her indelible turn as blues legend Ma Rainey in George C. Wolfe's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Viola Davis hit a high note and shattered an Oscars record. With the fourth nod of her career, she became the most-nominated Black actress in Academy history.

Initially, Davis resisted the role of Ma Rainey: "I just didn't see myself," she says. But Wolfe and producer Denzel Washington (who directed and starred opposite Davis in 2016's Fences, for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress) believed in her.

Most historical records of Ma Rainey have been lost to time — but finding unsung stories to tell has become a kind of signature for Davis.

"I want to explore the mess, the beauty, of being a Black woman," Davis says.

Though Regina King's directorial debut One Night in Miami… was snubbed in the Best Picture and Best Director categories, the thrice-nominated drama made a major impact — and heralded the arrival of the Oscar-winning actress as a major filmmaking talent.

Experienced though she is in front of the camera, King says directing was "exhausting on a whole other level, but I love it."

"She required that we gave her our best on the floor," nominated One Night in Miami… star Leslie Odom Jr. says of King.

Though King herself didn't score a Best Director nomination, this year marks the first time a woman of color has been recognized in the category. "It's a lot to wrap your mind around that in 2021 we still don't have a first of everything," King observes.

As her feature directorial debut's long awards run draws to a close, the moment "feels like a new beginning," says King.

Among Nomadland's six nominations, four are for writer-director Chloé Zhao (Best Director, Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing). Now, having already made history on the long road of this awards season, she's poised for a triumphant finish.  

"I feel very nomadic, as a filmmaker," says Zhao, whose next film is the Marvel Cinematic Universe entry Eternals. "Sometimes it can be quite lonely. You just feel very transient."

For more on the 2021 Oscars race, order the May issue of Entertainment Weekly — with covers featuring Chloé Zhao, Viola Davis, and Regina King — or find it on newsstands beginning April 16, and keep up with EW's Awardist online. Don't forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW. 

For more on the 2021 Oscars race, order the May issue of Entertainment Weekly — with covers featuring Chloé Zhao, Viola Davis, and Regina King — or find it on newsstands beginning April 16, and keep up with EW's Awardist online. Don't forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW. 

For more on the 2021 Oscars race, order the May issue of Entertainment Weekly — with covers featuring Chloé Zhao, Viola Davis, and Regina King — or find it on newsstands beginning April 16, and keep up with EW's Awardist online. Don't forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.