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Exclusive clip with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis

Teachers deeply touched the lives of Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal, stars of the school-takeover flick Won’t Back Down. In an exclusive SheKnows clip, Davis and Gyllenhaal explain what teachers have meant to them.

The meaning of life according to Viola Davis? To make a difference in the life of a child.

So she says in a clip from her latest movie, Won’t Back Down, now out on Blu-ray. The special features section of the DVD has this exclusive interview with the stars of Won’t Back Down, reflecting on the importance of a great teacher in a child’s life.


When a child comes from a desperate background, Davis explains, it just takes one person to help them get through it.

That person could be a teacher and touch many lives, says Davis, making the difference “between them just sinking into the ground and dreaming big, and flying.”

Davis’ co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal points out that different teachers connect with different students to push them and “make [them] grow up.”

Won’t Back Down — inspired by real-life stories of California parents who tried to use the law to let them take over failing schools — centers on a single working mom, Jamie Fitzpatrick (Gyllenhaal), who worries that her daughter’s elementary school is letting her down.

Fitzpatrick joins up with a warm-hearted teacher (Davis), who’s worried about her own son’s schooling, and the pair strives to bring their school into line.

Won’t Back Down was released on Blu-ray and DVD Jan. 15.

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