I'm in film school, so I really have to sock away my money for school, tuition, and so on, and I really don't have time.

I grew up in a family where we weren't allowed to talk about beauty or to put any emphasis on physical appearance.

I wanted to be in film. I wanted to be a film student, possibly be a director or cinematographer, not an actor. That was my goal. I didn't believe I had the physical beauty that I'd seen projected and advertised in movies, in theater. It just wasn't for me.

I love working with a lot of different films and a lot of different people.

I'm still trying to do films about black women.

I was able to be distant by portraying another person, another character, if you will, and I found myself not stuttering and not having anxiety attacks when I was portraying another soul, another being, and I found comfort in that. I think many actors do, playing someone other than themselves.

I came from poverty and was part of those circumstances.