I've always had an involved imagination.

Everyone said, ‘Brace yourself, Lupita! Keep a granola bar in that clutch of yours!’ I didn’t 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.

I went to the Independent Spirit Awards and won.

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.

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

Part of being an artist is that you are always concerned you don't have what it takes. It keeps us honest.

We, as human beings, have the capacity for extreme cruelty.