My faith is tested daily.
There are enough negative images of Black women out there and I did not want to portray Dorothy Vaughn in any stereotype. I wanted to make sure that her integrity was preserved.
Let's just say that I have a tendency if I am uncomfortable in a situation to speak my mind.
I'm an Oscar nominee. I love saying that. Whatever happens, I'm going to sing that 'I'm an Oscar nominee' part.
Only when you find the courage to say something to someone that might influence a change in your behavior, does that behavior change.
God in my mind gives you what you need. So, if you need God to be a black woman and you need that for whatever your reasons are, then perhaps your blessings will come in that form.
I do believe that we're all God's children.
You can't be from Montgomery, Alabama, and not have a background in the church. It's at the core of who we are as a people.
As an actor, you don't become Meryl Streep by doing the same type of comedy. You get there by being challenged.
Weight issues, race issues will always be there and if you allow them to get to you and you allow them to affect you then yes they affect you. But my thing is I have so many other things to worry about I can't worry about other people's perception of me.
I don't think that moms, with all that's going on in our society today, would want to put their kids in front of something that will be disheartening rather than uplifting.
Unfortunately, there's a lack of roles for women of color, so you actually have to be the engineer creating some of those roles.
I'm excited that I get to do what I love, and I'm benefiting through projects that speak to me.
As an actor, I've learned to become a detective. You have to figure out who that person is. If the character is a thief, you have to figure out what makes them a thief. Whatever the prevailing idiosyncrasy is, I have to find it in the script.
I can't speak for what other artists should do. I can only tell you how I live.
For me, when you have to prepare to play God, and then walking away from that, you realize just how tough God's job is. I don't want that job.
I choose projects that resonate with me on some personal level and projects that I'm afraid to do. If I'm afraid to do them, then I usually say yes, because it means that I'm not ready to go there and deal with certain aspects of the script.
There are moments where you stop living, if you stop changing, and if you stop seeking growth of some sort.
I hate to tell people what they should think 'cause I really have an aversion when people tell me what to think.
I don't ever want to be the type of person to tell you what to think or what to believe. Whatever stage in your life that you are in, I want you to organically reach whatever conclusions that you possibly reach.
The older you get, you always learn more. Sometimes it's a process of learning about yourself and what your journey is. Sometimes the process moves forward at a rapid pace in a short amount of time - or moves backwards. And you're like, "Man, I thought I had made so much progress, and now all of a sudden, I'm 10 steps further behind than when I started."
I just think that you have to believe in yourself and you have to work very hard. You can't ever think that you're the best thing since sliced bread because I promise you, there are going to be Viola Davises and Jessica Chastains and Emma Stones who are the best thing since sliced bread. So take it seriously, but don't take it too seriously.
As we women know, there are so many other hurdles that we have to cross that I would love it if we could stop having the race conversation so that we can get women further on. You know, a female president now that we have an African American president. Maybe we can get an Asian female, a gay person?
I have always been very family-oriented. I came from a dysfunctional, broken family growing up, and it's probably instilled in me the need and the want to have a strong family and a great foundation. So I think that is something that I naturally gravitate toward.
I have an affinity for the law. I like looking at the small type on contracts, and if I could have afforded law school, I probably would have gone.
