Viola Davis joked that agreeing to portray Michelle Obama in upcoming anthology 'The First Lady' was 'temporary insanity'

• Viola Davis appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" this week.
• Davis opened up about portraying Michelle Obama in the upcoming Showtime series, "The First Lady."
• Davis joked she lost her mind "for about five minutes" when accepting the role.

Viola Davis said "temporary insanity" was behind her decision to play Michelle Obama in the upcoming TV anthology, 'The First Lady."

While appearing on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," the "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" actress opened up about portraying the former first lady in Showtime's series.

When Fallon asked Davis why she accepted the role, she responded: "I think it was temporary insanity. I lost my damn mind for about five minutes, and I made a decision I can't take back."

She then praised Obama, 57, for being a "goddess."

"The woman is a damn goddess. Everybody knows her. Everybody feels like they want to protect her. Here's the thing: I'm just going to do the best I can," said Davis, 55.

Davis also revealed that she and Obama have spoken for "several hours" since she snagged the role.

"It's terrifying," Davis said. "Here's the thing - Sometimes, someone doesn't live up to whatever image you have of them in your head. But when they do live up to the image, it's quite frightening."

"The First Lady" is set to shine a light on some of America's "charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies," according to the network. Season one will include Davis as Obama, Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford.

This month, Obama told Entertainment Tonight that she's delighted to see Davis portray her and called her "the greatest."

"I feel that I'm not worthy," Obama said. "I wish I could be better to live up to the character that Viola has to play, but it's exciting."

Obama added: "Anything Viola does, she does it with passion and vigor, and I know she will do no less for this role."