I already optioned a book called The Personal History of Rachel DuPree. I also like The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. And I love all of Octavia Butler's books. She's created some very complicated black heroines with a variety of belief systems. There are many great books out there, but those are a few of the ones that stand out.

I am not a writer, but I feel that when our production company is successful, we'll be able to give some young writers with fresh voices an opportunity to put their work out there.

I haven't seen most of what I've done. I can't even list them. Most television jobs. I haven't seen a lot.

Do the work. Create the character, don't wing it and don't hope for an award or the Red Carpet. At the end of day the people who stay in the line the longest are the people who are good.

I had several teachers who inspired me, in both the public school system and the Upward Bound program. I needed several, because I lived in such abject poverty and dysfunction. And they're still in my life today, because I consider them to be friends, actually.

The internal sexism within womanhood is very ­predominant in Hollywood, because we all want to be ­successful. There's a plug to it: You all have to be skinny! You all have to be pretty! You all have to be likable, because that's the ­formula that works. On an ­executive level. On a power level. And it's not always the same working with black people, because of the internalized racism. The colorism.

I think that's something that people feel that I do really well; I don't mind it, because ultimately I think the characters I play move people, and who wouldn't want to move people?