Annalise Keating
| Annalise Keating | |
|---|---|
| How to Get Away with Murder character | |
Viola Davis as Annalise on the second season.
|
|
| First appearance | "Pilot" (1.01) |
| Created by | Peter Nowalk |
| Portrayed by | Viola Davis |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Defense attorney Professor |
| Title | Professor Annalise Keating, Esq. |
| Family | Ophelia Harkness (mother) Mac Harkness (father) Celestine Harkness (sister) Thelonius Harkness (brother) |
| Significant other(s) | Nate Lahey (lover) Eve Rothlo (lover) Sam Keating (deceased husband) |
| Children | Sam Keating, Jr. (deceased son) |
| Relatives | Clyde (deceased maternal uncle) |
| Nationality | African-American |
| Birth name | Anna Mae Harkness |
| Status | Alive |
Annalise Keating (née Harkness, born Anna Mae) is a fictional character created in 2014 by Peter Nowalk. It was developed for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) legal drama mystery television series How to Get Away with Murder. Keating is a high-profile Philadelphia-based defense attorney and law professor at the fictional Middleton University.[1]
Contents
Casting
On February 25, 2014, it was announced that Shonda Rhimes had cast Viola Davis in the show's leading role of Professor Annalise Keating.[2]
Development
Characterization
Early in the series, Annalise was reported as a self-sufficient and confident woman. She seemed to have a perfect life and was respected for being a great lawyer and a great law professor, who her students both fear and admires.[3] Her emotional behavior has been changing according to the occurrence of the story events. After being involved in the murder plot with four of her students, Annalise became a woman with two faces; one of them, a strong woman, was publicly displayed, while the other, a sentimental and destroyed human being, was shown to Nate, her lover.[4]
Relationships
Keating was the wife of the psychologist Sam Keating (Tom Verica). Their relationship lasted for a period, but Annalise found out that he was cheating on her with a teenager, named Lila. Even with what happened, Annalise stayed with Sam, til the day he almost attacked her. The two fight and he leaves. Later that night, Sam was found dead. Although she was suspected, Annalise didn't murdered him; the real guilty party is Wesley (Alfred Enoch), one of Annalise's students and her most intimate ally.[5]
While Sam was cheating Annalise with Lila, Annalise was cheating Sam with the detective Nate Lahey (Billy Brown).[3][6] Annalise and him were too intimate, and had a great relationship. Meanwhile, Nate's real wife, Nia, was hospitalized and she knew what Nate was doing. When Nia dies, in the second season, Nate gets angry and breaks up with Annalise, stating that he didn't had enough time to take care of Nia because Annalise framed him for Sam's murder.[7]
In the past, before the series' chronology, Annalise had a relationship with Eve Rothlo (Famke Janssen). Annalise left her home and changed her name—from Anna Mae to Annalise— and, later, meets Eve. They were friends and then girlfriends.[8] They broke up and Annalise left her to marry with Sam. Years later, Annalise calls Eve asking for help to defend Nate. During the second season, the two have romantic moments, but Eve makes clear that they are "friends having fun."[7]
Rivalries and friendships
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Due to her profession, Annalise is hated by many people. However, the prosecutor Emily Sinclair (Sarah Burns) has a feud with Annalise, even for no reason—Sinclair sometimes says that she wants to take her down.
Reception
For her performance as Keating, Viola Davis won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015.[9] The role also won her two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series,[10][11] and one NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series.[12]
References
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