Keiynan Lonsdale

“You can live your dreams and wear dresses. You can live your dreams and kiss the one that you love no matter what gender they are.”

“There's a lot to the story. And there are a lot of things I've learned about myself and about love, and I'm really grateful for the lessons, and I hope I can share that through art. I look for projects that allow me to do that, whether it's music or acting.”

“I started writing when I was, like, eleven. We couldn't afford private lessons, so I had to teach myself how to sing through recording songs on GarageBand.”

“I hope we can all learn to embrace who we are & not judge people who aren't exactly the same as us.”

“I think being back in Australia has kind of helped a little bit because you just feel really comfortable around everyone, and it's the same environment that I've grown up in.”

“I just pack up my pantry with lots of Oreos and other chocolate treats to disguise the fact that I don't have Tim Tams.”

“Hearing that you fit into someone's idea of a superhero is a huge confidence builder.”

“If you really are passionate about it, you're just going to find a way to make it happen.”

“I always said to myself the only reason that I won't get what I want in life is if I give up.”

“It's important that I work with people where they know why they're hiring me and that they're looking to create art without fear. Anyone who uses those excuses to not cast people or to create extremely stereotypical characters, they're creating out of fear, and to me that's really boring.”

“I suffered a lot from social anxiety, and being on set was really scary to me. That fear can cause limits in your art and your performance because you're not going all in because there is this little thing in your head.”

“As much as I think that in the future we won't need labels, at the moment they're really important. So I'm making myself embrace that. I truly am proud to be queer. Even watching 'Queer Eye' is something that inspired me to say that. So that's the power of representation.”

“People often expect that I should know a lot of things because I'm black. I don't really explain it to people, but it's like, I'm from Australia, my Mum's Aussie, and I grew up with five other Aussie brothers and sisters.”

“No one really had to encourage me to become an artist; it was just something I knew I had to do. I was drawn to things that seemed impossible.”

“I've become bored of being insecure, ashamed, scared... no one should feel like that about themselves, especially when there is so much good life to live.”

“I reckon my fear landscape would be me having to jump out of a plane or having to skydive. I would see that as one of the scariest things ever. And then also, I'm really not a fan of spiders and bugs.”

“Once I wrapped 'Insurgent', I went to Boston and shot a film called 'The Finest Hours.' It's based on a real story in 1952 about a Coast Guard mission to rescue these sinking ships that are caught in a blizzard.”

“I originally went up for a role on the spinoff show, 'Legends of Tomorrow,' and that led me to audition for Wally West in 'The Flash'. I enjoy auditioning in general, but this was a particularly fun process because it was so unexpected.”