I think that's really the allure of acting for me. I really want to connect with people.

I started in this industry [television] as a kid doing commercials. Ever since I was introduced to it, I loved it.

I think that's really the allure of acting for me. I really want to connect with people.

I really got attracted to the idea of touching so many people and that idea of art transcending entertainment and art and activism being synonymous.

Working with Ava [ DuVernay] and Oprah [Winfrey], they're just so intimate. I feel like we're really family at this point.

I just owe it to myself, to God and to everybody who supports me and people who don't even know me yet, to just be fully intentional and authentically real with everything I do, say and create.

That [Louisiana culture] was all very new to me. I read books and watched documentaries, just trying to immerse myself.