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" I do my best work when I feel conviction to say something through the character I play. Always I want to have integrity and not compromise that. "

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" Whoopi Goldberg looked like me, she had hair like mine, she was dark like me. I'd been starved for images of myself. I'd grown up watching a lot of American TV. There was very little Kenyan material, because we had an autocratic ruler who stifled our creative expression. "

" In the madness, you have to find calm. "

" I spent some time back in Mexico at 16 because my parents thought it would be prudent for me to learn Spanish, because I held a Mexican passport. "

" The muscles you flex in theater are muscles that you really need. I must always find a way to get back there. It's irreplaceable. "

" What fame does is there is an illusion of familiarity that is cast into the world. So it's about negotiating with that illusion because, oftentimes, you encounter people who have encountered you, but you haven't encountered them. It's a little weird to find your footing. "

" I have the opportunity to learn about the fashion world, and I appreciate it as an art form... But I never want it to take over my acting. "

" I learned at Yale, one of the biggest lessons was to learn how special I am and therefore how totally unspecial I am. I was special among everyone else who was special. The fact that we're all so individual and that's what makes us special. "

" I can speak of actors that I love. I love Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, her tenacity. I love Charlize Theron. She's so surprising and so exhilarating, the kinds of projects she takes on. Marion Cotillard as well. "

" I give myself homework when I have an audition. I give myself goals, and that's how I check how I'm doing. It can be something simple like 'listen,' or 'find your feet.' And then afterward it's an assessment, so in a way it's not about booking the job or not. It's about what I learned as an actor about that character. "

" When I was younger, I was almost too afraid to admit that I wanted to be an actor. "

" I've loved the opportunity to learn about the fashion world and appreciate it as an art form, and I look forward to my continued education, but I never want it to take over my acting. "

" I grew up in a world where the majority of people were black, so that wasn't the defining quality of anyone. When you're describing someone, you don't start out with 'he's black, he's white.' "

" It's so funny, you go to acting school thinking you're going to learn how to be other people, but really it taught me how to be myself. Because it's in understanding yourself deeply that you can lend yourself to another person's circumstances and another person's experience. "

" Being a part of '12 Years a Slave' has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. "

" Slavery is something that is all too often swept under the carpet. The shame doesn't even belong to us, but we still experience it because we're a part of the African race. If it happened to one, it happened to all. We carry that burden. "

" I had moved back to Kenya after undergrad, and I went through this crisis of, 'What is my life going to be about?' "

" As actors, you become an expert at starting over. "

" I thrive on structure. I find my freedom in structure. "

" Our business is complicated because intimacy is part and parcel of our profession; as actors, we are paid to do very intimate things in public. That's why someone can have the audacity to invite you to their home or hotel, and you show up. "

" I come from a very close class. I lucked out because drama schools are often very competitive... I have fourteen classmates. "

" Part of being an artist is that you are always concerned you don't have what it takes. It... keeps us honest. "

" There is something about acting that's mysterious and magical because there is only so much I can do to prepare, and then I have to just let go and breathe and believe that it will come through. "

" I discovered that joy is not the negation of pain, but rather acknowledging the presence of pain and feeling happiness in spite of it. "

" Home is where my family is. "

" I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin, and my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned. The morning would come, and I would be so excited about seeing my new skin that I would refuse to look down at myself until I was in front of a mirror because I wanted to see my fair face first. "

" I want to be uncomfortable - acting is uncomfortable. "

" Human beings have an instinct for freedom. "

" Steve McQueen is a genius. And I think that word is overused, but I think with Steve it's rightly used. He's a genius. "

" I am very emotional about politics in a way that makes it hard for me to articulate things in a rational fashion. "

" Personally, I don't ever want to depend on makeup to feel beautiful. "