Tessa Thompson

“There was a period when I had a hard time reconciling all the different parts of me in a way that I thought would make sense to others.”

“I eat almonds professionally, and I can't get enough of Yerbe Mate Cranberry Synergy Kombucha!”

“I grew up partially in L.A. and partially in New York. In L.A., anything goes because it's really temperate. There aren't any fashion rules dictated by weather, whereas in New York, of course, there are. New York is seasonal, and also it's a fashion mecca, so people are a little more aware of how they put things together.”

“I am multiracial, and I went through different phases - at one point, I listened to Wu-Tang and hip-hop, and then the next year I listened to Joni Mitchell.”

“I've felt this real need to ground my work in my ideals.”

“Norse mythology is mystifying and fantastic and totally confusing, but you can draw a lot of inspiration from it.”

“I think when any one kind of film does well, it creates a precedent and paves the way for more like it.”

“I think we just need to have a demand for fresh and nuanced movies.”

“'Veronica Mars' was my first job, and for some reason, my character changed her hairstyle halfway through the season from curly to - I don't even know why - suddenly straight.”

“Oftentimes in films, the female character, if she's not the protagonist - and often, even if she is - feels like an imitation of what a woman is.”

“I don't spend a lot of time contending with the fact that time is not endless.”

“Even while I'm really interested in playing female characters that are varied and interesting and dynamic, I'm not of the mind that you always want to play strong female characters. I think I just want to play characters that are interesting, and not all people are 'strong.'”

“As a kid, I loved going to lots of thrift stores with my parents. There was a period where I thought it was embarrassing, and then I started to get older - I realized they were really cool.”

“I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I split my time between the West Coast and the East.”

“Death is just a part of life, you know? It's what makes all of life more vibrant. It's coming whether we want to accept it or not.”

“I think, as an actor, when you're starting off early in your career, you're kind of just seeing what lands. But 'Veronica Mars' definitely primed me to look for surprising, dynamic women. It took me awhile to realize how cool that job was.”

“We have this real problem as human beings to put people on pedestals - with celebrities, with historical figures - and we forget they're humans just like us.”

“Cultural change always precedes political change.”

“I guess I'm sort of just a glutton for having moments when I can just do whatever I want to, which sounds terrible.”

“The truth is, no, we don't live in a post-racial state anywhere in America, and this is particularly true in Hollywood.”