“One of the people I’ve always wanted to emulate in pursuing that dream was Meryl Streep, in terms of the different types of roles she’s been able to play and the number of different stories she’s been able to tell.”

It’s time for people to see us, people of colour, for what we really are: complicated.

All you really need to do is shift people just a tiny bit for change to happen. It doesn’t have to be huge and humongous.

Womanhood is you. Womanhood is everything that’s inside of you.

I would love to be remembered as a person who used her life to inspire others in any way, shape or form.

In my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful, white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can’t seem to get there now. I can’t seem to get over that line.

And that’s what people want to see when they go to the theater. I believe at the end of the day, they want to see themselves – parts of their lives they can recognize. And I feel if I can achieve that, it’s pretty spectacular.

I really wanted to show [in fences] a marriage that is working. Not perfect, but working.

Your internal dialogue has got to be different from what you say. And, you know, in film, hopefully that registers and speaks volumes. It’s always the unspoken word and what’s happening behind someone’s eyes that makes it so rich.

They say, ‘To serve is to love,’ and I think to serve is to heal, too.

And “classically not beautiful” is a fancy term for saying ugly. And denouncing you. And erasing you.

I guess they say, “Necessity is the mother of invention” because you have two stark choices when you find yourself in a really desperate situation. You can either fold and cave-in to it or you can become really passionate about getting out of it.

Eating bread in Hollywood is a no-no!

Acting, it’s the disappearance of self, disappearance of your own needs and your own wants and the kind of embracing of the character that makes it work.

I think that what happens so often on screen is high-stake moments tends to look too pretty. And I just don’t think it’s honest.

I’ve always just simply seen myself as an actor. And I believe that it serves me well to just think in terms of my craft. If hypothetically, I saw myself only as a sex symbol, or as some other limited stereotype, I think I would feel like a complete failure.

Ordinary people who are just kind of just going about their lives are transformed into heroes because they have the courage to put their voices out there. I think that’s a powerful message in this time of political strife.

A man may hate cruelty and lies, but if he’s never given an opportunity to show what he’s made of, no one will remember him when he dies.

Take advantage of every opportunity; where there is none, make it for yourself.

Take advantage of every opportunity; where there is none, make it for yourself, and let history record that as we toiled laboriously and courageously, we worked to live gloriously.

If only you can go through difficult times with inner grace, you will see that every situation we face is an opportunity to enhance our lives.

Don’t underestimate the power of vision and direction. These are irresistible forces, able to transform what might appear to be unconquerable obstacles into traversable pathways and expanding opportunities.

It pays to know the enemy – not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.

Changes bring opportunity for growth.