'How to Get Away with Murder' stars reflect on how series shaped careers ahead of finale

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The stars of ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder" are saying farewell to their groundbreaking series.

The grand finale of the 90-episode drama airs only on ABC Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT.

"I don't think that you're ever ready for a goodbye. You're just not," said leading lady and Oscar winner Viola Davis, who plays defense attorney and law professor Annalise Keating.

Conrad Ricamora, who plays computer hacker Oliver Hampton, said he's upset about the series' end.

"I am sad. This is my family now," Ricamora said. "For the past 6 years, we've been there for each other through so much, and it's going to be really sad not to see them every day, and also to not be part of a show that's so wild and crazy and unpredictable."

Being part of television producer and writer Shonda Rhimes' universe was a career highlight for Ricamora.

"The worlds she creates look like America. The diversity, the representation and it's the representation that I needed growing up that I didn't have, that I now get to provide for other people across the world," he said.

Billy Brown plays detective Nate Lahey, who's having an affair with the powerful Annalise Keating.

For Viola Davis, it was her first sex scene ever.

"The thing about fear with acting, when you work though it and you sort of believe you can do it, just for a moment. And even if you don't believe, you fake it, then the sweet spot comes," Davis said.

"I was able to really - and very greedily, hungrily - enjoy, consume, give and take one-on-one with Viola Davis for nearly six seasons," Brown said. "You can't beat that."

Out of all her projects, which include "Fences," "The Help," and "Doubt," Davis has said that "How to Get Away with Murder" changed her life.

"It introduced me to a global audience. It made me believe that I could be a leading lady," she said.