“Colonialism is the cousin of slavery.”

You’re not free unless you can show the good and the bad, all sides of them. So to me, when I play a character, it’s important that I can show every aspect of them.

I was raised in a sort of village. I have a huge family, and I think there is strength in that. It helped me to deal with some of the complications of living in the South because I always felt like I belonged, no matter what.

I try to look at every role the same way, regardless of whether the character is real or the character is a fantasy. I always start from myself, because you have to know yourself first.

The projects that I end up doing, that I want to be involved with in any way, have always been projects that will be impactful, for the most part, to my people – to black people.

I’m an artist. Artists don’t need permission to work. Regardless of whether I’m acting or not, I write. I write when I’m tired in fact, because I believe your most pure thoughts surface.

I’m not afraid to work.

When it comes down to it, I’d rather have an action figure than a Golden Globe.

A superhero movie is only as great as its villains.

I would love to have an ocean of love right now. That said, the number-one rule of acting is, ‘Do not seek approval from the audience.’ People don’t realize that. You can’t do stuff to get applause. You have to live in the truth.

As an African-American actor, a lot of our stories haven’t been told.

People don’t want to experience change; they just want to wake up, and it’s different.

The only difference between a hero and the villain is that the villain chooses to use that power in a way that is selfish and hurts other people.

You have to cherish things in a different way when you know the clock is ticking, you are under pressure.

There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.

Education is a gateway to broadening perceptions, fighting stereotypes, and creating parity in this world.

Understanding our history is one of many ways to break the cycle of racial injustice in this country. ⁣

My mother’s sister was killed in a trolley car accident, so I was raised as one of eight with my sister and six male cousins.

My mum had a cousin that had played when he was younger.

They’re probably not any more complex or interesting than their good, law-abiding cousins, and I’d always tend to see things from their point of view.

I come from a huge family and out of all 34 of my immediate family members, my heavier influences were women. Between my grandmothers, aunts, older female cousins, and of course my mother,

However, I was very conscious of the fact that both sides of my family were drastically different and my aunts, cousins, and uncles varied in different shades of brown.

My family has always had Cape Verdean pride but I don’t think it was something the kids in the family necessarily understood.

I’ve always been an actress, entertaining my family was the start. I’m a goof ball among many of my cousins and siblings.

I started with ballet and then my cousin Sarah introduced me to her tap teachers.