Even in my dreams of being an actor, my dream was not in the celebrity. My dream was in the work that I wanted to do.

What I've learned from myself is that I don't have to be anybody else. Myself is good enough.

I never, in my wildest dreams, could I have thought that the first role I get out of school would lead to an Oscar nomination.

The muscles you flex in theater are muscles that you really need. I must always find a way to get back there. It's irreplaceable.

When I was younger, I was almost too afraid to admit that I wanted to be an actor. I didn't know any successful actors in Kenya, so I felt like I could get away with going to college to study film more easily than I could with saying, 'I want to be an actor.' That's what I did.

Makeup isn't something I've worn a lot of in my life.

[My mother] always said I was beautiful and I finally believed her at some point.