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.

I've had somebody say, "I want you at my wedding, but I don't want you to pull focus, so wear jeans!" Losing my anonymity is something that's proving to be very challenging.... It's good for your soul to walk around unnoticed; there's so much you can't do when everybody knows who you are. And I so miss those little things.

I like people who don't tell you what you want to hear.

You win an Oscar, and immediately people ask how you feel. So you don't have time to actually feel anything because you have to generate a response. And then some of the feelings you have are so intimate and visceral, words don't really do them justice.

I grew up in Nairobi, which is the capital of Kenya, so it's hustle and bustle, and there's always something going on.

I'm pretty awesome at making salad dressings.

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.