I went to the Independent Spirit Awards and won.
Steve McQueen is a genius. And I think that word is overused, but I think with Steve it’s rightly used. He’s a genius.
I had this vivid image of myself at the age of 60 looking back on my life and truly regretting the fact that I hadn’t tried to be an actor.
I can speak of actors that I love. I love Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, her tenacity. I love Charlize Theron. She’s so surprising and so exhilarating, the kinds of projects she takes on. Marion Cotillard as well.
I’m interested in generating work for myself. I have trouble with this waiting-for-the-phone-to-ring lifestyle, especially after drama school, which was so creatively fulfilling.
I always love to learn new things. That’s the reason I like being an actor.
I never, in my wildest dreams, could I have thought that the first role I get out of school would lead to an Oscar nomination.
Happiness is the most important thing.
I definitely intend to create my own work in the future so that we don’t have to keep saying we don’t have work for black women. But right now I don’t know what’s next. I hope that there are more opportunities to come my way.
In the madness, you have to find calm.
What’s becoming very obvious to me is that fashion is art.
We, as human beings, have the capacity for extreme cruelty.
I grew up in Nairobi, which is the capital of Kenya, so it’s hustle and bustle, and there’s always something going on.
I’m pretty awesome at making salad dressings.
There’s always a sense of newness with acting, because every role, you come to every role fresh.
I would love to have a career that’s governed by the material; I always want to be part of stories that I feel are worthwhile.
To this day, I love eating steak tacos before going to the red carpets.
As human beings, what makes us able to empathize with people is a connection that is not necessarily understood mentally.
I do my best work when I feel conviction to say something through the character I play. Always I want to have integrity and not compromise that.
Drama is my sweet spot, but the thing about being an actor is that you want to do a variety of things. I definitely love fantasy and would want to be in a fantasy project.