Academy Award front-runner Viola Davis covers the February 2012 issue of LA TIMES Magazine with a photoshoot that shows a drastically different side of the actress.  See the pics inside and get highlights of the interview she did with Andre Leon Talley for "ET."

The Help star Viola Davis, pictured directly above in a Jason Wu sculpted dress and a Costume National fox fur poncho, has pretty much cleaned up at all the shows for awards season, so it's only natural that she is expected to win this year's Oscar for Best Actress. 

In the latest issue of LA TIMES Magazine, the actress rocked a photoshoot that highlighted her gorgeous features.  She looks fab!

In a Theirry Mugler lace with velvet trim suit

In a Marchesa long sleeved lace and high neck dress with organza flower detail

Here's a few of the highlights:

On liking characters that are underrated, slow burners: “Human life is about a culmination of moments, and 99 percent of those are quiet but powerful. I am always interested and intrigued with watching that.”

On nurturing her craft from a young age: “Even back when I was 11, I knew that Isabel Sanford from The Jeffersons came from the stage. I never watched the Oscars, but I watched the Tonys every year. I wanted to be onstage. I wanted to be like Colleen Dewhurst or Jane Alexander—one of those great ladies of the theater, doing Ibsen and Shakespeare.”

On the need for young people to be mentored to aspire to something fulfilling: “I am doing this out of necessity. If I am not the instrument of change, I can meander through this business and be the black woman who always has two or three scenes but with fabulous actors around me.”

And in other Viola news....

She recently talked to Vogue Contributing Editor Andre Leon Talley for an upcoming issue.  And a part of his chat aired on "Entertainment Tonight".  Here are the highlights:

On using real-life experience to draw on for her role in the The Help.

"I have stories of being spit on.  You have to realize I was in a predominantly white culture ... And third grade was the worst because every day after school I would wait at the door and the bell would ring. And as soon as the bell rang I ran as fast as I could from the front door to my house, which was at least a mile away, because I would have eight to nine boys with sticks, bricks, anything they could find, who were ready to kill me."

On what her mother told her about bullying

"She said, 'Viola, I want you to take my crochet and needle and you put it in your pocket and if they stop you again you tell them you're gonna [stab] 'em.'"

On how her life defined her career

"Having it hard made me build so much character ... You have to actually say, 'Is the world going to define me or am I going to define myself.'"