Samira Wiley Quotes

I've been lucky enough to play roles that are not just the preppy cheerleader or sullen emo girl. I've been able to play roles that are really vast and varied and very three-dimensional. Fingers crossed that it remains the same.

I liked the fact that there were so many different representations of black women and black men in the movie. It wasn't like we all had the same agenda.

As an actress, I think there is always a political consciousness there.

Any opportunity I can get to showcase different characters, I absolutely love.

I'm an actor, full stop. Not an Arab actor. Not an actor of Algerian origin. Just an actor.

I'm a mixed race lad from Liverpool. I get to play a lot of hard characters, and some people perceive that's what I'm like, but it's great for me 'cos they're always the most interesting characters.

It's so weird to turn on a switch and be the role model for all women, for all African-Americans. That doesn't happen that easily. It just doesn't. And so I don't act up in public and I don't do anything weird - because my sisters are watching me, not because the world is watching me.

As an actor, you can have your opinions, but our responsibility is telling the point of view of this one character.

There's a little bit of me in everybody that I play.

Playing a real-life character is definitely a lot more responsibility than one that is fictionalized.

It is a fine line to be this PG superstar and also a role model and a bad guy and playing off our personality.

I think there's a responsibility to any character that you play that was a living persona.

I like representing different kinds of black people - showing they exist.

Being of Indian heritage is a challenge - and it's a blessing as well sometimes - because being good isn't good enough. You have to be exceptional to play different characters.

It's people who look like me, just seeing representation of everyone. I didn't get that when I was young. I only saw one black girl that was on a Disney show, that was known for being the sassy, coocoo, that type of girl.

I spent summers in my room listening to cast albums, like 'Les Miserables,' every night. I knew it backwards and forwards. I want to be the first black Jean Valjean.

I am conscious of the community that I'm representing and don't play into stereotypes.

I don't want to put on any gimmicky layers just to give the character more definition. I just want to play good characters. It doesn't matter to me if it's 'open ethnicity' or 'specifically Asian.'

Since I first started acting, I never separated a character's sexuality from what they eat for breakfast. I just think it's sort of silly. If I can be a part of helping to overcome that puritanical thing in our culture, so be it. I'm happy about it.

Acting is how I'll be able to change how Latinos are viewed in media and change how little girls see and talk about themselves.

I think there are parts of myself in every character I play.

In every character you play, as much as you hate to admit it as an actor, but there's an element of you that you bring to it.

I've played some gangster roles, but that's obviously not me. When you're an Italian-American New York actor, it's just an easy way to get cast.

I love acting and really taking on another person, another life.

There is such a cliche to certain roles that all I can do is to try to make them realistic and work for the times, and so the audience actually won't see me as a caricature of something, but rather as an actual person.