It's definitely a shock to go from being 15 in high school to working. There's no real cushion there. There's no preparation at all. You learn by doing.

There's no right way. There's no measurement system. That's why, you know, art competitions are a little confusing to me. I mean, they're lovely, but so many people are affected by different people and different things in such different ways. And yeah, it's immeasurable.

So one day, in a fit of trying to do something different, I just dyed my hair dark brown and got my first role a week later, after which I thought: 'People are closed-minded, man! Like a different hair colour changes everything!'

I was raised in Arizona, and I went to public school, and the extent of my knowledge of the civil-rights movement was the story of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. I wonder how much my generation knows.

I've learned that you have to stay true to yourself from all the amazing people I've had the opportunity to work with thus far. You have to stay true to yourself and don't be afraid even though people may say what you're doing isn't cool or isn't right. I promise you, you will not regret it if you stay true to who you are and what you love to do because there is no other reason that I am up here today receiving this award.

As much as I try to be present, it just doesn't really feel like reality. It feels like a fleeting thing. There's a million other incredibly wonderful girls that are much more talented than me that are out there all the time. So I'm just trying to appreciate it for what it is. But I don't want it to take on that feeling of pressure, because I don't know where that's gonna get me.

I can't help moving my face - reacting - when I watch a movie, because I'm really inhabiting a character. I know this is weird, but it demonstrates what I love about cinema: it allows you to live a different life, to have a different experience, to disappear for two hours. I think it's wonderful.