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" I do a lot of yoga, and when I'm in L.A., I have an outdoorsy sort of lifestyle. It's sort of comfortable, West Coast, yoga chic. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
West Coast
West
Comfortable
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" I feel like I learn in every project. "
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" When I'm not working, I'm really, really low key. I don't wear makeup unless I have to; I don't get my hair done unless I really need to. "
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" For film, I think because it's more detailed, and especially with historical material, you really have to find the right projects. Speaking as a mixed-race woman, there aren't many historical stories about people like me. When people think of 'dual heritage,' they think it's a modern concept, but really it's not. "
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" I like being free to take on any project that inspires me and to trust that the work will speak for itself. "
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" That's the wonderful thing about acting - you play a role. It's about humanity, rather than labeling. "
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" I just love performing so much, and I threw myself into every musical theater production that was going in my home town and at school. And then, I went to the National Youth Music Theatre, which was really a galvanizing experience for me when I was 17. "
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" Speaking as a mixed-race woman, there aren't many historical stories about people like me. "
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" I'm interested in playing lots of different complex women. "
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" This is going to sound really sad, but I didn't really have any heartthrobs when I was growing up. I was a bit of a geek. "
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" When you become a slave to a public persona and don't feel comfortable without it, it becomes a shield, and it shouldn't come at the expense of your self-worth. "
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" In 2009, I was living in London and getting work I enjoyed. "
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" I was born in the '80s, so I don't really remember it very strongly, but the music is so iconic. And so those artists - Madonna, Prince, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston - you still hear those songs all the time. And there's such a distinctive style - the clothes, the shoulder pads, the big hair, the perm. "
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" Corsets were a challenge in 'Belle;' fake nails tripped me up in 'Blackbird.' Guess I'm not a mani type of girl! "
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" I was always the one leading the way in terms of wanting to do acting, singing and dancing. I was lucky that my mother had a very well-adjusted perspective of the world and never pressured me to do anything I didn't want to do. "
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" From the age of four, I loved ballet and tap. I was in the school band, the choir, and all my school plays. "
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" I am an only child, so I relate to the intensity of that single-parent, mother-daughter relationship. "
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" One of my favourite places is Hampstead Heath. When I first moved to London, I lived in Highgate, and I would walk on the Heath at the weekends and go to the Kenwood House coffee shop. "
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" You've got to find a way to relate to people. I just did an improvised episode for Joe Swanberg's new Netflix show, 'Easy,' and it was a huge learning curve for me and taught me so much about fear and courage. But when you're present in the moment, the audience, it's incomparable. "
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Moment
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" Sometimes you can't fight change, because you're a part of it, and I feel that in the context of these films that are happening now, there is a kind of change coming in terms of how history is represented on film, and the African, and the African-American and British African experience. "
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" The 'Pride and Prejudice' with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle was something I watched on a weekly basis with my mum at home in Oxfordshire. "
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" I feel like my work has been incredibly diverse. "
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" When I was nine, 'The Borrowers' was such a big series for me! "
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" Different fragrances promote different emotions, and I find that fragrance gets me in the frame of mind for that person. "
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" I like the collarbone, a very clean collarbone. I think there's something also very delicate and balletic about that part of a woman's body, and I'm not really a cleavage person, but I do like a back or a shoulder; I think there's something very alluring about backless dresses. "
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" I spent a chunk of time in New Orleans doing the movie 'Free State Of Jones,' getting to work with Matthew McConaughey, and also did 'Concussion,' where I got to work with Will Smith. "
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" I see L.A. as a workplace rather than somewhere to live. If I don't get out, I go crazy. If you have a little success, people treat you differently, so it's good to keep a healthy perspective. It's acting, not rocket science. "
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" The actors that inspire me are the comedians and the people able to shape-shift into different roles and into different media. "
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" My personal style is somewhat androgynous and simple. With my lifestyle, I've become more of a minimalist. "
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" I try not to define myself. Other people are going to do that for you anyway. "
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" I didn't really grow up on hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald and the old school jazz divas are more my comfort zone. "
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