There's always a sense of newness with acting, because every role, you come to every role fresh.
Lupita Nyong'oIt's so much more fun to do the work than to talk about it. I will have to admit that. Everybody gets to decide how they feel, and what to take away by themselves, and that's what you hope for. That people will take away different things and have different experiences from the work we do as actors. So I don't like to prescribe how to feel about the work I do.
Lupita Nyong'oEveryone said, โBrace yourself, Lupita! Keep a granola bar in that clutch of yours!โ I didnโt really understand what they meant, and it was only once it was past that I realized that my body had been holding on by a thread to get through this very intense experience. Nothing can prepare you for awards season. The red carpet feels like a war zone, except you cannot fly or fight; you just have to stand there and take it.
Lupita Nyong'oIt's only when you risk failure that you discover things. When you play it safe, you're not expressing the utmost of your human experience.
Lupita Nyong'oI remember in my very first fitting, costume designer Patricia Norris gave me a garment with these intricate stitches - stitches over stitches, because it had been repaired so many times. Once I put it on, she told me that it belonged to an actual slave woman. My heart just stopped. Each one of the stitches had a story, you know. Just recognizing this period I was going to be dancing with was a "come to Jesus" moment.
Lupita Nyong'o