You never know how people are going to respond.

I'm a big child at heart. I think it's important to stay that way and not lose the wonder of life.

Me and my sisters were taught that if our eyes worked and our legs worked, we were beautiful. We had so many kids in our family that if we all got in front of the mirror and were ashamed of browns and golds and yellows and whites, and we believed what society told us - that the darker people were less attractive and the lighter ones were prettier - we would have had sibling murders. My family, being half-rural and half-military, just came from a different place.

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'm just going to try to do the best work at whatever I'm going to be, and I don't think I'm going to be an actress.

Well, thank you and that's for them, but for me, I want to look back at a body of work where when you do the research and you explore the psyche of a character, where she's been, where she is and where she's going.

It's the best honor when someone wants to use as their professional title the name of a character that you portrayed.