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" If I have a jump rope and a resistance band, I can work out anywhere. Even without a jump rope. If you do 200 jumping jacks, then drop and do some crunches, and then do some squats, you're good. "

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" When I was 12 years old, I got involved with an organization called Artists for a New South Africa. One of its missions is to help with HIV/AIDS awareness. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

Africa

Awareness

Help

" The Underground Railroad, which was the first integrated civil rights movement, is a part of our history that not a lot of us know about. And it's actually a very empowering side of our history. "

" There's something about Jason Katims' writing that just feels like home to me. He gives you so much liberty to play, which you don't find on most TV shows. You just don't. "

" How often do you see young actors playing scholars? Or striving to be intellectuals, you know? It's not that often. "

" I think, as human beings, we try to hide our flaws and try to present this perfect person, this person we wish we were, to our spouse when that causes so many troubles. "

" My dream role is actually behind the camera. I want to direct. "

" There's something about driving through Texas, and it's hot, your skin is sticking to you. The environment affects your attitude and your swagger. "

" I'm very opinionated and passionate when it comes to my characters. "

" Far too often, I read a script where the girls are the girlfriend or the set dressing. "

" There are obstacles and challenges that my dark-skinned sisters face that I will never know. How they are perceived when they walk in a room of strangers is something I will never truly know. "

" My mom bought me an 'Anne of Green Gables' journal. And I just remember thinking it was so cool, and I could write anything in it. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

Remember

Green

" I love to get in the library and just spend days researching characters. "

" With film, there's a consistency to it, but what I like about the TV shows that I've been fortunate to do, like 'Friday Night Lights' and 'True Blood,' is that it feels like you're doing a film. "

" There's still a really divisive residue in our nation that's called racism and prejudice and oppression and sexism. "

" You learn a lot about yourself just by writing it down. "

" I have respect for therapists in general, because they hear so many stories. It's a lot to hold and take in. "

" My siblings are so talented. My sister's a producer, and my brothers and I all write. "

" Oftentimes, a history book in school will talk about the Underground Railroad as if it's one sentence. But thousands of people decided to run, and they single-handedly changed the trajectory of our nation. By running to the North, they put a face to slavery, which recruited a lot of abolitionists. "

" The slave narratives, there is a wealth of research there, because you are hearing stories from the first person account, and that's a whole different thing than reading about it in the history books. You're able to really personalize it. "

" I walk in a space of gratitude. I'm so grateful to God for blessing me with an amazing family and the opportunity to do what I love. "

" I started shooting 'The Defenders' two days after I wrapped' Friday Night Lights.' I was doing research for 'The Defenders' throughout - interviewing lawyers and sitting in courtrooms just to watch - but there's something fun about throwing yourself in the water and learning by doing. "

" I'm very grateful to have been able to work with so many talented filmmakers and actors during my career. I've learned so much from them. It's been my college, in a way. "

" I have a complex heritage: my mom is African American, and my dad is Jewish. Both were activists, and they met during the movement in the '70s. "

" I'm a research queen. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

Research

Queen

" There's a lot of progress happening in TV. You have amazing shows like 'How to Get Away With Murder.' You have people like Shonda Rhimes, Lee Daniels with 'Empire,' and Jason Katims with 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Parenthood.' You have people behind the scenes writing complex women. "

" Marian Wright Edelman is a mentor and hero of mine. "

" The AIDS epidemic began before I was born - I've never known a world without it. And yet, despite its omnipresence in our lives, there remains a pervasive silence around AIDS among young people, particularly young women. "

" Until we really heal the wounds that we dealt with during slavery, I don't think we'll be a fully realized country. "

" 'Full House' was the first time I had ever been in front of a live audience. I said a line I had rehearsed with my mom, and they laughed. It was wild. To have that energy of the live audience was like, Whaaat? Feeding off that live audience was, to a 4 or 5 year old, a high. "

" I always said, 'Whenever I get pregnant, I'm going to embrace all of the body changes that happen.' My focus has not been on any sort of snap-back or anything like that, because your body won't be the same after giving birth, and if anything, that's something to be celebrated, embraced, and owned. "