Viola Davis says her mother has not seen 'The Help'

Viola Davis plays maid Aibileen Clark in the movie, The Help. For her role, she has won a Screen Actors Guild Award and is nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. Her mom, however, has yet to see the film.

On CBS This Morning, Davis revealed that her mother is part of a generation that does not like to relive racial themes.

"My mother has yet to see the movie… I think it's just because -- I think it's painful. You have a whole generation of women who don't want to be reminded of the past," Davis explained, according to ET.

Davis explained that her mother was reluctant to reveal information about her experiences in the segregated South when she asked her for help with her role.

Both Davis' mother and grandmother were maids. Davis found out that her grandmother was treated very badly by those she served.

She learned that her grandmother had 18 children and only 11 survived. She worked sunrise to sunset and got paid $25 a week. This is as much as Davis' mother would tell her about her past.

At first, Davis was not sure if she wanted to take the role since she would be playing a maid.

"I didn't feel people would perceive it as a fleshed out role. (I feared) that they would just see the maid in 1963 in Mississippi with a broken dialect. I wanted them to see the human being behind the uniform," said Davis, reported CBS.

Davis is even unsure about what her mom's dreams were. She does believe, however, that she is now seeing her dreams through her (Davis) and her sister.

Davis explains that her mother cried when she won the Screen Actors Guild Award, as she was proud of her daughter.

The Help was the most nominated film at the Screen Actors Guild Award. It won four awards in four categories.