As far as developing a career as an actress, I think it's a fine balance between trying to just work, and also be true to yourself.
If you're fortunate enough, you get to a position where you can be a little pickier about your roles.
I don't think I'm a follower, frankly.
I'm actually developing a project so that I can have a lead.
I like to make collages - paper collages.
Which is why I felt I was truly blessed this year, with leads in two nice films, and also the luxury of being able to do a studio film and an independent afterwards was fantastic.
So now I feel I'm lucky in the respect that I can sort of pick a little more carefully, which is tricky because as a black actress, there aren't that many roles to pick from.
For six months I'd do movies and make it all about me. Then the other six months, it's not about me and it doesn't matter what my hair looks like or what anything looks like.
In the end, I play a lot of friends and I really think it's about time that some ethnic girls get out there in the lead part. So we're developing something.
Editing is a natural extension of collage making. It's actually one of the few areas that women were able to excel in in the film industry from the beginning.
When you work on a movie, you just have no idea how it's going to come out; you hope it's good, but you don't really know, and you don't see it until about six or nine months afterward, and I saw it and was pretty pleased.
Sometimes I wonder why I'm not working at McDonald's and how come I have the life I have. I don't know. But I'm happy that I have these choices. That's kinda sappy, huh? But whatever, acting beats pumping gas.
