Exclusive: HTGAWM's Viola Davis Relives First-Ever Sex Scene and How She Pushed Past Her Fears

Everyone has a moment of self-doubt, even glorious Emmy-winning actresses like Viola Davis. The How to Get Away with Murder star has been acting since the early '90s, but that doesn't stop her from having a case or two of the nerves. In POPSUGAR's exclusive, behind-the-scenes featurette, Davis relives one of the most frightening moments of her career: her first-ever sex scene that just happened to occur in the ABC legal thriller's pilot episode.

"Everything in my spirit was gearing up for that scene," she admits in the video, noting that she couldn't eat or sleep before filming. Of course, when she went into the meeting for scene choreography, her scene partner Billy Brown (who stars as Nate Lahey in the series) was cool as a cucumber, "eating a sandwich and drinking a smoothie." But the experience blustered Davis to confront her fear and finally accept herself as the female lead of the groundbreaking series. "I had a massive revelation," she says about the experience. "Why can't I do this role and why can't I play this woman? Why not me?"

How to Get Away with Murder is currently airing its sixth and final season, with the April 30 episode serving as the first of the final three instalments. As the series wraps up its final mystery, Davis shares a sentiment that we can all agree on. "I think that now people look at Annalise and say, 'There's no one else I can see in this role,'" she says. "And that's a beautiful thing."