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" I think there are parts of myself in every character I play. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Character
I Think
Myself
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" In my own life, when I'm not working, I do wear a lot of black. I think I do feel very comfortable in black. "
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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. "
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" I've always sung. I was really into musical theater when I was growing up. As a kid, I listened to Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone, actually, on cassette tapes. "
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" If you're an artist, it's great to have a knowledge of the business and be educated about that, but you've got to keep the balance right between business and artistry; otherwise, you get cynical. "
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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 am an only child, so I relate to the intensity of that single-parent, mother-daughter relationship. "
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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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World
Mother
Perspective
" I enjoy classics, but classics are classics for a reason. I prefer to focus on the future. There are a lot of new stories to be heard. "
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Enjoy
Reason
" That's the wonderful thing about acting - you play a role. It's about humanity, rather than labeling. "
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Humanity
Acting
" I think being biracial is a different experience. I think that, and coming from the U.K., I feel as much white as I do black. And so it's really important for me to address these issues of identity in my work. But also, you know, we're always stronger when we work on, you know, what we have in common. And I love exploring that in my work. "
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Work
Think
Experience
" 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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Music
Hair
Clothes
" Because of my job, my hair gets played with a lot on set, so I try to give it little bit of breathing space when I'm not working. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Hair
Job
Little
" I don't really want to just play the girlfriend or the love interest. I get so many scripts like that, and - not to moan, because I'm really fortunate - but I just look at those scripts, and my heart sinks a little bit because I think there's so much more to us than that. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Look
Think
Love
" 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Person
Woman
Clean
" It's odd doing a movie, and then a year and half later having to go to a premiere and talk about what you did, and get dressed up and have your picture taken. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Dressed
Doing
Picture
" 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
You
Feel
Your
" I love to go hiking. There's a lot of concrete in L.A., and I come from the Shires, so it's important for me to get back in touch with nature. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Nature
Touch
Me
" 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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Hair
Done
Working
" I'm interested in playing lots of different complex women. "
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Complex
Women
Playing
" When I was nine, 'The Borrowers' was such a big series for me! "
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Nine
Series
Big
" I never wanted to be like anyone growing up. It's always been about the enjoyment, and I've just never wanted to imitate anyone. "
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Growing Up
Growing
Enjoyment
" 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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Trust
Free
Me
" At home I wear my own clothes, no makeup and don't do anything exciting with my hair. I get to borrow pretty dresses for the red carpet and have experts do my hair and makeup. "
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Clothes
My Own
Makeup
" I'm a very improvisational cook. I sort of like to make things up as I go along. I'm quite creative in the kitchen. "
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Creative
Kitchen
Things
" I like to choose things that fit my body for sure; you learn to find the things that complement your shape. "
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Body
Like
You
" 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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Places
Coffee
Go
" 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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Comfort Zone
Grow
Old
" I played Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz.' That was my first role on stage. "
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Wizard
First
Role
" 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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Work
Will
New
" 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Moment
Fear
Learning