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" History is written by the winners. My job as an artist is to speak up for those who might be perceived as the losers. Or those who can't shout. "
Ruth Negga
Speak
Up
Artist
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" Violence in film and television is an ongoing conversation, and I like eavesdropping on it, but I'm never sure what my opinion is. I like watching creative violence, but I don't know. "
Ruth Negga
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Know
Conversation
" I had quite a scattered childhood. I was Irish in London, because I had my secondary school education there. I never really fitted anywhere. I didn't feel it was a negative thing, and I was never made to feel different - I just knew I was. "
Ruth Negga
Negative
School
Childhood
" Some people say to me, 'You don't sound very Irish.' It's because I have this tendency to iron out my accent: not because I'm ashamed of it but because it makes my life easier if I don't keep having to repeat myself. "
Ruth Negga
You
Life
Me
" I've met loads of black and brown and various people who are well into comics. "
Ruth Negga
Well
People
Comics
" People ask me where I'm from. I say Ireland, and they are like 'Really? You don't look Irish.' Then you have to explain... people are intrigued, but sometimes you think, 'Why do I have to tell my whole story every time I open my mouth? "
Ruth Negga
People
Me
Story
" I'm always very careful to say I'm Irish-Ethiopian because I feel Ethiopian and I look Ethiopian and I am Ethiopian. But there are 81 languages in Ethiopia, and I don't know any of them. "
Ruth Negga
Look
I Am
Always
" I think if you want to make a performance authentic, there are a certain amount of leaps of faith into the unknown that you have to take. Otherwise, you're not really risking anything. I think if you don't risk something in art, it's not really important. "
Ruth Negga
You
Faith
Performance
" I'm interested in the idea that we all start off as these lovely little babies with all this potential but that circumstances mean that we don't always live the life we should. "
Ruth Negga
Life
Live
Potential
" There are no actions involved in 'beautiful.' It's such an inactive thing, and it's so subject to each individual's taste and appreciation. It's a lovely word, but I feel like it's been hijacked by really boring, dull people who don't understand how to use words. "
Ruth Negga
Appreciation
Beautiful
People
" America has a black president, but there are no black studio heads, and there just aren't that many black people working anywhere on film sets, let alone in positions of power in Hollywood. That's what needs to change. "
Ruth Negga
People
Change
Alone
" I don't like hobbies. I read and travel and see my friends before they disown me. "
Ruth Negga
Me
Like
Friends
" I use the term 'spine' for people when I think that they may seem on the surface sort of reticent, shy, self-deprecating, shying away from the spotlight. Quiet. "
Ruth Negga
Spotlight
Shy
Quiet
" I don't think I've necessarily been able to pick and choose in my career; I don't know how many people do. But I'll tell you what I've been able to do: I've been able to say no. It is the only thing you can hold on to sometimes, is that ability to say 'no.' And I think that in that way, you can create some kind of career. "
Ruth Negga
People
Think
Create
" My job as an artist is to speak up for those who might be perceived as the losers. Or those who can't shout. No wonder public-school people always get into politics or acting: they're taught to shout that much more loudly. "
Ruth Negga
Politics
People
Job
" Diversity needs to operate on every level. It's great that the Oscars have highlighted it, but black actors getting nominated shouldn't be the only result. There's so much more that needs to be done. "
Ruth Negga
Diversity
Great
Result
" I like connecting with people, and that's what good art is: a point of connection. There's nothing better, on stage or on film. "
Ruth Negga
Connection
Art
Better
" I auditioned for 'Loving' two years before we started shooting, so in the hopes that I would be playing Mildred, I watched it again. Also it's one of the best documentaries I've seen. I found this couple interminably fascinating; even if I didn't get the part, I just wanted to know more about them and their story. "
Ruth Negga
Two
Story
More
" I was an attention seeker, always in trouble. "
Ruth Negga
Seeker
Trouble
Always
" My whole life is an interracial relationship! It's inescapable. I am who I am. "
Ruth Negga
Whole
Relationship
Who
" My favorite film is 'All About Eve'. "
Ruth Negga
Eve
About
Film
" I know I've said it before in interviews, but the idea that all actors have their eye on some sort of prize - it being an Oscar, or fame, or whatever - not all actors I know are like that. "
Ruth Negga
Fame
Interviews
Eye
" The good thing about auditioning is that you get to test yourself and see if you can play this character - you're also auditioning yourself. "
Ruth Negga
Test
Good
Character
" In many ways, playing a real person is slightly easier because you have a road map. When you're playing someone fictitious, there's myriad ways in. With a real person, there's boundaries, and that sometimes makes the work easier. "
Ruth Negga
Work
Map
Someone
" I've always had sort of an interest in American history, full stop, and especially people who contributed to the civil rights struggle. "
Ruth Negga
Struggle
American
History
" Women always have to have this soft, maternal, sort of - I don't know - moral center. "
Ruth Negga
Center
Always
Know
" I've always been very talkative, very chatty, quite hyperactive. I grew up with a lot of cousins, and most of them were boys. Four in particular and I were the demolition squad. Havoc. "
Ruth Negga
Squad
Four
Most
" I don't believe that directors need to essentially manipulate actors into doing things. You can suffer for your art, and you can make your own self suffer for your art. You don't need anyone else to do it for you. I work best when there's a safety trampoline of kindness. "
Ruth Negga
Kindness
Self
Work
" What's really important is the people, first of all. I like working with people who are kind, above all else. I don't really want to work with someone who will manipulate me. The idea that you must treat actors a certain way in order to get a performance out of them kind of disturbs me, and it's disregarding what we do. Our job is to do our job. "
Ruth Negga
People
Performance
Treat
" Stories about race and identity pique my interest for obvious reasons. That's in my body, my brain, my history, my memories - it's all part of my toolbox as an actor. "
Ruth Negga
Body
Brain
Memories
" When you label someone 'up and coming' or 'the new breakout,' there's this kind of expectation. And I think, like I said before, it's very hard to live up to that expectation when you really don't have that much power as an actor - in terms of your career path and the timing. "
Ruth Negga
Career
Path
Power