There are enough negative images of Black women out there and I did not want to portray Dorothy Vaughn in any stereotype. I wanted to make sure that her integrity was preserved.

As an actor, you don't become Meryl Streep by doing the same type of comedy. You get there by being challenged.

You can't be from Montgomery, Alabama, and not have a background in the church. It's at the core of who we are as a people.

I think if I weren't so squeamish, I would have been some sort of forensic analyst. And I can't do anything with a microscope, because then I start thinking about the world of germs around us.

I was starstruck and sweat a lot when I met Oprah Winfrey and tried to hug her. Because when you think you know people when you see them from your couch.

Any upward movement is movement for us all.

I prefer doing interviews where people don't have to interpret what you say. I'm going to be real honest.