Rutina Wesley

“My legs are actually my favorite feature.”

“I still see myself on TV and think, 'Oh my God, I'm on a television, and there are millions of people watching,' and I get really nervous and embarrassed and insecure.”

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

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

“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.”

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

“My grandmother is very liberal, but... she still has her opinions.”

“I usually love to go bowling when I'm in Vegas. There's something about Vegas and bowling, do you know what I mean? You know what I mean. Bowling is just the thing to do.”

“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.”

“I did my first Broadway play, 'The Vertical Hour,' in 2006, with Julianne Moore, who's always been one of my favorite actresses. My scene was with her, so it was nerve-racking.”

“It wouldn't be 'True Blood' if somebody didn't die.”

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

“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.”

“The theatre at my school was awesome. It was a 1,400-seat auditorium, so, being in that auditorium at 17, and having, like, 1,400 people cheer for you was, like, one of the most amazing feelings that I've ever felt, energy-wise. It just felt right.”

“I was a very driven young person.”

“I want to do parts that are outside of the box.”

“It's really maddening out there for dark-skinned actresses in terms of the opportunities we get. There's just so much talent that is being overlooked.”

“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.”

“People can be really mean - they say the most vicious things.”

“I really love Adina Porter.”