Condola Rashad

“Paul Giamatti is truly one of my biggest inspirations, and even more so now that I've gotten to work with him. Every single thing he does, he completely transforms into it. When I watch a film with Paul in it, I'm not like, 'Oh, there's Paul.' I'm completely into whatever character he's in, and I'm not thinking about him as an actor.”

“I really want to do film, but I want to do the right film. The truth for me is that I'm really driven by stories. So there are stories I want to tell, and if it's a good story then I want to do it, whatever genre it is.”

“When I was born, that was right smack in the middle of 'The Cosby Show.' But what I remember is my mother took me with her... She exposed me to the world in such a way where I was included. And I didn't feel like she chose her career over me.”

“Even when you're not acting, don't lose sight of your goals or who you are.”

“My view of myself as an artist expanded because of the time I spent at Cal Arts.”

“I would never be in a film just for the sake of being in a film, so I am waiting for the right role to come along.”

“I admire fashion and I respect it greatly, but I don't necessarily follow trends. I never really have. I just wear what I like to wear. I really like colors, and there are some things I wear and don't care what anybody says about it being in style or not. I wear it anyway.”

“I do create songs and play the guitar. But my focus is definitely on acting. I think, if there's going to be singing involved in my career, it would probably be in musical theater.”

“The way I work emotionally is: I don't ever try to cry. I try not to, which is what for me produces organic emotion.”

“If I had seen a black woman play Juliet as a little girl, my idea of my place in the world would have been totally different.”

“Shakespeare teaches you how to act. You come out of this process as a better actor. It's just the nature of the words he writes.”

“William Shakespeare was a brilliant writer and he only wrote the truth. So, if I don't believe it, I have to work really hard to see what that truth is so that I do; that's the only way I can make it believable for the audience.”

“I wasn't even a theater kid in high school. I studied classical piano, and I ran track.”

“The reason why I like theater is because it's a long journey, and no matter what role you play, we are all in it together.”

“I want the type of career where I can come back to theater. Theater is my home. Theater, to me, is like ballet for dancers. It's my foundation.”

“I think, even when I was little, there was signs that I was an artist. I've always been an artist. My first exploration through art was really through music - I've trained classically with piano for about ten years.”

“I'm a songwriter and I'd love to make that a part of my career.”

“Theater is a lot more interactive, more of a cohesive unit. With television, it can be a different director every episode.”

“The truth of the matter is, I am a black woman, and I am an actor. I don't try to get caught up in being a black actor; I'm just an actor who is a black woman. It's not about forgetting that you're black, but you don't need to be hammered over the head, either; it just is what it is.”

“If I see something that's extremely challenging, I'm like, 'That seems really hard. Let's try it.' It's just my personality.”