CANDICE PATTON

Everyone deserves to have their voice heard.

I didn't read comic books; that's not something that was really available to me as a child. We watched more cartoons and movies.

When you're shooting a TV show, there's not a lot of time to build character.

The last thing we need is women on TV hating each other.

We would be silly to say that race issues don't exist in 2014.

I get comments all the time on Twitter, and fan mail about how amazing it is to see me play Iris West: a strong woman. It's not really about her being black; she just happens to be black.

I remember being interested in theater when I was in school, but I wasn't always engaged in making it a career. I was a cheerleader in Texas, but I tore my ACL, so I was out for the rest of the season. That's when I started putting more of my passion into theater.

I don't worry too much about learning lines per se. The memorization is the easy part for me, usually. For me, it's more about working on the context, back story, intention, motivation, etc. Once that's in place, the lines come pretty naturally.

Luckily, I didn't have many 'day jobs' while trying to find success in Los Angeles. When I first moved to L.A., I worked at Bubba Gump Restaurant for about two days. I didn't even make it through training before I quit. I just didn't care to memorize all the different types of shrimp.

For me, Iris West was traditionally white in the comic books. So, you know, comic book fans are very opinionated, very vocal. So it was very scary stepping into that role when I started the show.

I'm quite a loner. I realized that I'm very introverted, and I get energy by being alone instead of being with other people.

It's great to know that young black girls are seeing themselves on TV as leading ladies, and I'm part of that. It's just such an honor.

I would love, love, love to do theatre. It's how I started, and essentially, it's my heart.

I was never once told to consider anything but my dreams. It's probably one of the greatest gifts my parents gave me, because it never occurred to me to do something other than what I loved.

I think people love the character of Iris West. I think a lot of fans are also excited that Iris West is now African-American. They want to see her be strong and intelligent and a love interest - and so people come out in full force to defend that and honor that. And I think that's cool.

I grew up with Batman and Superman but definitely in a cartoon and a movie kind of way. I was familiar with DC superheroes. I didn't know much about The Flash or anything about Iris West!

The world in which we live is diverse, and I think television and film should reflect that.

As far as someone who I would like to work with - this is super out of the box, and I have put this on my Twitter - Pam Grier. I love her. I just love her fierceness, and she's kind of, for me, one of the first black superheroes. I would love to have a chance to work with her.

'Heroes' was great, but I was like the sorority sister, the friend. So often, we as black women, we are cast as the best friend; we are rarely the leading lady. So for me, being on 'The Flash,' it's been so important for me to be the leading lady, to be the woman that is desired by the superhero, to be the hero herself.

I would love to do a non-musical Broadway or Off-Broadway play.

I learn my lines in a few different ways. A lot of my dialogue sticks with me in a general sort of way when I read the entire script for the first or second time. Then, when I get the shooting schedule, I have a better idea of what scenes are shooting when. I then will focus on those that are coming up first.

My parents have always advocated doing what I love to do.

I didn't have an acting job when I moved to L.A. I was just naive enough to think that moving to L.A. was the next step after college. My parents were really supportive.

I have my insecurities, and some days you don't want to be photographed. You notice all of your flaws even if others don't notice them. Photo shoots also feel very vain because it's all about you and your looks and your face. I feel I work better on camera.

It's not enough to be diverse in your casting. You have to service those characters; you have to make them fully well rounded because people are watching.