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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. "

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Great

You

Balance

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" Everyone says to you, 'if you play Ophelia, you'll end up crazy,' but we're all somewhere on the spectrum of mental health, and I think that if you approach it that way it's not such an intimidating issue. "

" 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. "

" I didn't really grow up on hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald and the old school jazz divas are more my comfort zone. "

" 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. "

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Heritage

People

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I was so thrilled to be in 'Doctor Who.' It's such a wonderful experience, and the fan base that that show has never fails to surprise me. "

" 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. "

" Speaking as a mixed-race woman, there aren't many historical stories about people like me. "

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Woman

People

" 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. "

" 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. "

" In 2009, I was living in London and getting work I enjoyed. "

" I am an only child, so I relate to the intensity of that single-parent, mother-daughter relationship. "

" 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. "

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Places

Coffee

" 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. "

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Growing Up

Kid

" In terms of 'Beyond the Lights' and 'Belle,' they're definitely stories about identity. They're female empowerment stories. So I'm exploring that through my work. "

" Watching and learning from the great Josette Bushell-Mingo, who was playing Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the time, and then to return to the same stage six months later playing a lead role, was incredible - I fell in love with the poetry and the breadth of the language so much that I didn't want it to end. "

" I feel like I learn in every project. "

" I definitely grew up to Nina Simone and a lot of Ella Fitzgerald. And I loved Amy Winehouse. I loved that sort of soulful singer. "

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Singer

Lot

" That's the wonderful thing about acting - you play a role. It's about humanity, rather than labeling. "

" 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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I'm interested in playing lots of different complex women. "

" Corsets were a challenge in 'Belle;' fake nails tripped me up in 'Blackbird.' Guess I'm not a mani type of girl! "

" 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. "