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" I'm interested in playing lots of different complex women. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Complex
Women
Playing
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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 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
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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. "
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Think
Mental Health
Health
" 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Creative
Kitchen
Things
" 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
" 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
Up
Lot
" I am an only child, so I relate to the intensity of that single-parent, mother-daughter relationship. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Relationship
Intensity
I Am
" 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Time
Poetry
Love
" 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
Go
" 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
" 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Work
About
Lights
" When I was nine, 'The Borrowers' was such a big series for me! "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Nine
Series
Big
" I think there are parts of myself in every character I play. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Character
I Think
Myself
" 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Experience
Change
Fight
" I feel like my work has been incredibly diverse. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
I Feel Like
Feel
Work
" I like to choose things that fit my body for sure; you learn to find the things that complement your shape. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Body
Like
You
" In 2009, I was living in London and getting work I enjoyed. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Work
London
Living
" That's the wonderful thing about acting - you play a role. It's about humanity, rather than labeling. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Play
Humanity
Acting
" 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Hair
Done
Working
" 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
" 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
Up
Kid
" For me, I try and be authentic in my choices and follow my instincts, and I think it's a valuable message for women in today's society to learn to love yourself. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Women
Society
Love
" The actors that inspire me are the comedians and the people able to shape-shift into different roles and into different media. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Different
People
Media
" I like being free to take on any project that inspires me and to trust that the work will speak for itself. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Trust
Free
Me
" 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
" 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 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Music
Hair
Clothes
" You have to be able to appreciate who you are. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Able
Who
You
" 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. "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Clothes
My Own
Makeup
" Corsets were a challenge in 'Belle;' fake nails tripped me up in 'Blackbird.' Guess I'm not a mani type of girl! "
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Challenge
Fake
Girl