RUTINA WESLEY

When I was 7, an old lady was driving too fast in my neighborhood and hit me with her car. I was running out of the house, and when I got halfway into the street, my mom saw the car and yelled for me to run back. As I turned around the car hit me, dragged me five houses down the road, and I fractured my collarbone.

I always have my Beats by Dr. Dre headphones turned up high. I'll probably be deaf by age 50.

When you're not working is when you have to stay positive and remind yourself that you're talented.

I've always loved who I loved, and it never mattered to me where they were from. That's how it should be: wherever your heart tells you to go, you go.

I'm all about the crossover. The role doesn't necessarily have to be white or Latina or black. It could be anything. But it's hard in Hollywood, because sometimes it's all about the box office. Or all about looks and things like that. It's not about the story that they have to tell.

I think that as a young lady, you start off not knowing what you want to do, and then you kinda arrive at yourself by the time you're 17 or 18, hopefully. And that's what I did.

If I'm going to be honest with you, when I trained at school, I feel like I was training to be a chameleon. I want to be that versatile actor who can do anything - that's why you learn fifty different dialects, you do Shakespeare, you do commedia, you do it all so that if any job comes your way, you should be able to do it.

Every morning, I'm visited by hummingbirds. I think it's nice, but maybe they're planning an attack?

I'm a sneaker head. You'll find more sneakers than heels in my closet.

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, and then I left there to go to the University of Evansville where I majored in theatre.

I'd like to do a romantic comedy like 'Notting Hill,' which is one of my favorite movies.

If vampires and werewolves were walking around today, there would be chaos. People would be losing their minds.

Who has ownership over stories these days?

I don't have an 'actor cry.'

At Julliard, they don't teach you where to move your face for the camera, you know?

Comic-Con is so much fun.

Dance is in my background.

I always try to make sure that I stay connected to theater so I continue to be inspired. Not that I'm not inspired by television.

Staying in Vegas would've been too easy for me.

When I got into high school, my favorite artist was definitely Janet Jackson.

Doing a play is so fulfilling. Words cannot describe how I feel when I finish doing a play.

Fiona Shaw is one of my idols. She's phenomenatastic. I just make up a word for her - that's how much I love her.

For me, I have this tough exterior and these Angela Bassett arms, and people think, 'Oh, my God, Rutina's tough.'

Hollywood can jack you up and then help you fall, but it can also raise you up.

I always tell other young actors to go to school, or at least watch movies to learn as much as you can.