Actress Viola Davis, a graduate of Rhode Island College who grew up in Central Falls, is not a die-hard fan of American Idol. But she does have enough interest to watch the final episodes, and she remembers seeing Fantasia Barrino win in 2004.

"I love watching the last couple episodes [of American Idol], because the contestants remind me of me when I was younger. I had huge dreams, like they do," Davis said in a phone interview from Los Angles, where she now lives.

Now Davis has a closer connection of Barrino thanks to a Lifetime movie, The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, based on Barrino's autobiography of the same name. Barrino plays herself. Davis plays Fantasia's mother, Diane. The TV movie debuts tonight at 9, tomorrow night at 8, and Monday night at 9.

Davis went to Juilliard after graduating from Rhode Island College and won a Tony Award in 2001 for her performance on Broadway in August Wilson's King Headley II. Barrino, on the other hand is a novice actress.

But Davis said that Barrino was perfectly equipped for the role she was playing -- herself.

"She didn't have to be taught anything at all. . . it's not like she's playing Sophie in Sophie's Choice. She just needed to let herself be emotionally honest," Davis said. "A lot of actors can't even do that, but Fantasia could. To be intimate, to be honest -- she had the courage to go there, and it didn't take a lot of preparation. She didn't have to use glycerine drops [to create tears], the way a lot of actors do.'

But Davis admits that, despite a distinguished career, acting is something of a mystery to her.

"I've been acting as a professional for 17 years, and the one thing I learned is that no one knows what we do. Especially when we're doing it," she said.

Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, focuses on Barrino's difficult years as a child and teenager. The singer, now 22, dropped out of high school and had a baby when she was still in her teens. She was also the victim of a rape.

The movie opens backstage at American Idol, where the show's producers tell Barrino there's been a lot of negative comment about her past on the Internet, and offer her the option of quitting the show. That triggers a flashback that starts with Barrino as a child gospel prodigy in her hometown of High Point, N.C., and brings us up to her victory on American Idol. (We get to see some fleeting scenes from Barrino's American Idol performances, but no more than that.)

Not only does Barrino win American Idol, but she even has a supportive new boyfriend, reinforcing the movie's emphasis on second chances and dreams come true.

Davis said she got the role of Barrino's mother after director Debbie Allen called Davis' agent. Allen knew about Davis through her sister Phylicia Rashad, who has worked with Davis before. But isn't Davis too young to be playing Barrino's mother?

Davis laughed. "I want so much to take that compliment," she said. "But it turns out that I'm exactly Fantasia's mother's age." (Davis just turned 41).

Besides Life Is Not A Fairy Tale, Davis can be seen on the big screen in a small role in Oliver Stone's 9/11 movie World Trade Center. She plays a mother whose son was trapped in the South Tower. Not only is she dealing with grief over the nearly certain death of her child, but she also feels guilty because the two of them had argued earlier that morning.

"It wasn't tough to shoot," Davis said. "Things always go easier when obstacles are removed from your path. In this case, there was a well-written script, and a director who allows you enough time to rehearse and prepare."

Davis also has a major part in a coming TV series on ABC called Traveler, about three young men who become suspects in a terrorist bombing. When two of the men try to clear their names, they discover the third has disappeared, and they have no way to even prove he existed.

Davis said she plays an FBI agent trying to unravel the mystery. "I'm like the Tommy Lee Jones character," David said.

Slated as a mid-season replacement show, Traveler could get on the air anytime between November and March. Davis knows all too well the vagaries of the TV business -- she's a past veteran of Stephen Bochco's medical show City of Hope in 2000 and the futuristic legal show Century City in 2004, neither of which lasted very long.

But she said Traveler has a strong script going for it.

"You really never know,' Davis said. "It's all about your time slot and retaining an audience, which are things I have no control over."

Since she left Rhode Island, Davis has had roles in theater, TV and movies. If she could pick a favorite, she said, it would be theater -- but a lot depends on the particulars.

"If I had a great role, great script, great director, then I'd pick TV," she said. "It's so rare for everything to come together."

asmith@projo.com / (401) 277-7262