I want to have conversations, because they give you confidence in your choices. I learned it first on Boyz n the Hood, but it is not a race-based experience - it is part of the artistic process.

I admire the women who can have babies and jump right back to work. As a nursing mother, I couldn’t sit there and just pump all day. I needed to be close to my baby.

I think it's dangerous to look at every Muslim woman the same and to assume that every experience within the religion is the same, meaning that there are going to be strong and assertive women that are Muslim. There's going to be a more passive woman who just so happens to be a Muslim. There may be a funny, big-personality woman and she's Muslim.

I would say that I learned that the heartbreak wasn't as much about me as the fact that my partner wasn't right with himself. I see where his life has taken him, and realize that the handwriting was on the wall. There were things that I had blamed myself for, but it was really more about his choices, his needs and his journey as a person. His desire for too much of everything made it a challenging relationship.

I can tell you it makes a big difference to have a director who is collaborative. What motivates a character in my mind could be completely different from what the director's thinking. You have to have those conversations ahead of time and throughout the process. It affects the performance.

The last step will be letting my hair go natural. That's when you'll know I'm free.

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.