I've never had to talk about my work, nobody's given a damn about it - you know, what I thought. I find that I sort of like that, to get to keep it to myself. It's a bit bizarre.

I find life so shocking in general. Everything about it surprises me.

Seeing someone happy on set is just a very small slice of the reality of an actor's life.

I thought acting was what grownups did. It was such a part of my childhood. I was already in love with performing before I knew there were other options. By then, it was too late.

I look back at my adolescence, and Im shocked at the things I did that were my idea of adult behavior.

Costume design is so important and really helpful, and I really love that aspect of character development, just figuring it out.

Ive always wanted to play the villain. But the young girl is never the villain.

It's weird. I feel like people assume if a character is very different than you, that means it's difficult to get into their head or into their skin.

So when things start going badly, you're invested in the characters in a way I think amplifies the horror and the fear because you're invested.

I didn’t find it difficult to live in the “Inherent Vice” world or play those scenes, because they just seemed so real.

I dont think Paul Thomas Anderson has a standard approach to anything.

Whatever it is you have been called to do, if you will invest time into perfecting it, you will soon be reckoned among the great in your society.

Unhappiness comes when we feel helpless. Hope comes the minute we decide we are not.

Art is not a thing

We are in a wrong state of mind if we are not in a thankful state of mind.

I sang everything - R&B slow jams, Spanish slow jams, romantic reggaeton - and I really didn't care which I got signed for.

But the truth is, I've never wanted to be a movie star - and I've been pretty clear about that.

We start with gifts. Merit comes from what we make of them.

Consider no one a stranger. Learn to feel that everybody is akin to you.

What do men know? Because they have seen no unicorns for a while does not mean we have all vanished.

We’ve gone through the names—Negro, African American, African, Black. For me that’s an indication of a people still trying to find their identity. Who determines what is black?