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" The person that inspired me throughout most of my childhood was Angela Bassett. "
Teyonah Parris
Childhood
Person
Most
Related Quotes:
" A show like 'Orange Is the New Black' has every race and ethnicity - and you don't even have to depend on four networks any more. You can go to Amazon or Netflix and be in an award-winning show. "
Teyonah Parris
Depend
New
Orange
" It was not hard for me to find guidance and motivation. I'm very blessed, and my parents were always so supportive of myself and my brother. Whatever you wanted to do, you just had to give 110 percent. So whatever that was, they supported it. "
Teyonah Parris
Brother
Blessed
Parents
" I always want to tell the truth. It doesn't have to be a pretty truth, and it doesn't have to be a life-changing and life-threatening truth like 'Chi-Raq.' But I want to tell someone's truth in an effort to inspire people to see themselves reflected on the screen. "
Teyonah Parris
Inspire
Effort
People
" I think, no matter who you are, at some point in your life you've probably said, 'OK, well, who am I, and where do I fit in?' "
Teyonah Parris
Matter
You
Think
" As black women, we're miles behind our white counterparts in being offered the space to create and craft female characters in major blockbuster films. "
Teyonah Parris
Women
White
Space
" In working with Nick Cannon, he's such a generous guy, a generous actor, and he was very protective. "
Teyonah Parris
Generous
Working
Very
" It only takes one person to mobilize a community and inspire change. Even if you don't feel like you have it in you, it's in you. You have to believe in yourself. People will see your vision and passion and follow you. "
Teyonah Parris
Community
You
Vision
" When I look at material, I get excited by things that are telling the truth because that's what you want to do: tell somebody else's truth. "
Teyonah Parris
Truth
Look
You
" Generally, when I'm going to a new project, I take my own makeup. I'll explain to them what it is that I would like. If they are receptive, we figure it out together. If they're not, I'll be going to back to my trailer and doing my own makeup. And that's the same for hair. "
Teyonah Parris
Back
Own
Makeup
" I don't even watch basketball. I can't even pretend. "
Teyonah Parris
Watch
Pretend
Even
" I'm looking through old things of mine, and there was this binder from when I was 14 years old. It is essentially a dream board. It is a school binder that I had put magazine clippings on. It said, 'TV actress, fame, a picture of Halle Berry, a picture of Christina Aguilera.' I was obsessed with both of them. "
Teyonah Parris
School
Fame
Looking
" I think social media is a slippery slope because while you're projecting something out to people, they also project back onto you what they want to see. "
Teyonah Parris
People
Social Media
Think
" Ever since I was maybe nine or 10 years old, I'd say, 'I'm gonna be an actor, and I'm gonna go to Julliard, and I'm gonna be in movies.' My parents never said, 'What's your backup plan?' "
Teyonah Parris
Parents
Movies
Said
" An actor hears 'no' more often than the average person. A black human and a black woman on top of that? That's a lot of no's. "
Teyonah Parris
Woman
Actor
Top
" When you get older, you start to doubt, and you put limitations on yourself. But little Teyonah had no fear. "
Teyonah Parris
Older
Yourself
You
" I got my first relaxer when I was nine years old. This was in the '90s, and I convinced my mom to let me perm my hair so I could wear a French roll with the crimps in the front. "
Teyonah Parris
First
Years
Old
" I want to continue to strive towards deepening my relationship with God and finding peace in whatever trials or circumstances I may be given. "
Teyonah Parris
Finding
Peace
God
" You look at 'Survivor's Remorse.' Or 'Blackish.' Or Issa Rae's brilliant, funny 'Insecure,' which started out on YouTube but is now on HBO. And you see multifaceted representations of the African-American experience. It's insanely exciting. "
Teyonah Parris
You
Experience
Funny
" Every time I get a role, or the opportunity to explore a role, I look at it, and I think, 'What is the story we're trying to tell here?' "
Teyonah Parris
Think
Time
Look
" I went to this arts high school in Greenville, S.C. In speech class, the teacher, a white man, would say, 'You're talking ghetto. Don't talk ghetto.' I'm not only offended, but I'm confused because while there's nothing wrong with people who come from the projects or the ghetto, that's actually not my experience. "
Teyonah Parris
Man
Teacher
Experience
" I was a wild child tomboy. "
Teyonah Parris
Tomboy
Wild
Child
" Why aren't there films being made that tell ethnically diverse stories? Or why is it so impossible to allow a person of color to add their texture and their essence to a role that is not ethnically specific? I don't know why it's a novel or risky idea to consider making a film look like how our world actually looks today. "
Teyonah Parris
Today
World
Color
" I went straight from filming the second season of 'Survivor's Remorse,' and the creators over there were so supportive in letting me go early so I could film 'Chi-Raq.' And that was an amazing experience. "
Teyonah Parris
Early
Amazing
Survivor
" You have to really understand and appreciate who are you are and know who you are and what you have to offer people - not just a man but people! This helps you have something to stand on. Know your value and what makes you valuable so you can always go back to this. "
Teyonah Parris
Value
You
Stand
" When I looked at 'Dear White People,' you have four African-American students who are all very different and who are trying to figure out who they are. They're dealing with identity issues and crises. That is exciting to me, to see African-American young people on a page, on a screen, who are so diverse and whose stories are all so different. "
Teyonah Parris
Identity
People
Trying
" When you get into this industry and the restrictions placed on women, first, and then on women on color, next? Yeah, this business comes with its challenges. But I do not shy away from those challenges. "
Teyonah Parris
Color
Challenges
Business
" Every time I see my friends on a billboard, I'm so excited. If God can do it for me or them, he can do it for everybody. "
Teyonah Parris
God
I See
Me
" Working with Spike Lee was a dream of mine. It was amazing to be able to collaborate with such a visionary. "
Teyonah Parris
Dream
Mine
Visionary
" As a girl, I remember looking up to pop singers, and they all had long, straight weaves and light skin. And I thought, 'That's what I have to look like if I'm going to be fierce and sexy and all those things.' "
Teyonah Parris
Thought
Looking
Sexy
" I really feel like the stars have aligned many ways, many times for me. I have been blessed to play some awesome roles and nuanced and meaningful characters. "
Teyonah Parris
Awesome
Feel
Me