Mara Casey gave me my first job. I saw something online, and it was for a part in a "Gilmore Girls" episode, and I thought I was right for it.

I would say 'The Master' was one of the most inspiring things I've ever got to work on.

I've always laughed at the term "female director" or even "black director." A director's a director.

I'm very fortunate to have the privilege of working with directors like Bill Condon and Paul Thomas Anderson, who I think is one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.

I do it when I'm a preparing for a role quite a bit - I sit with music. It helps influence the discovery of something. Then sometimes during filming I like to listen to the same things. It brings me back to a place where I just feel more creative and focused.

Mara Casey gave me my first job. I saw something online, and it was for a part in a "Gilmore Girls" episode, and I thought I was right for it.

When you do something that people respond to, and then you start altering the blueprint for what worked, it's pretty fear-inducing. But sometimes, you have to do that, in order to push the boundaries.