It's like going to the gym everyday. It really is. I work hard on my craft, I sweat a little bit, I run a little bit, I might sprain an ankle every now and them, but it's all good and the more you do it, the more in shape you are and it's like a machine.

I have been in situations where actors are treated like robots: say the lines, say it like this, we don't have time for conversations. That is a terrible position to be in as an artist. You feel used.

I believe everyone should have the freedom to represent what they believe-in in their own way.

I attribute my talent and my success to God, but I believe that the only way you can manifest what He has ordained for you is by being close to Him and by making it happen. But we have to stay close to Him in order to be an image of Him.

I'm a self-made woman. I've never compromised myself.

I try to do the same thing when I'm with young actors who are new and unsure. I try to do the same thing for them that I saw Laurence [Fishburne] and Angela [Dasset]do for all of us on Boyz n the Hood.

Collaboration is necessary for making great art. Everybody has a perspective on what they think or feel the material should ultimately look like when it hits the screen.