A biography for Zawe Ashtonhasn’t been written yet.
“My drama teacher when I was a kid called me 'Zawe the activist' and I had no idea why. Now I've got older I can see why she always saw that in me.”
“I'm just coming to terms with the fact that I will always do lots of different things and I can't really stay in one place too long.”
“Art galleries are the best first date spots for my money.”
“I want to be a successful actor, never a famous star. Because one is an organic meal that will sustain you, and the other is toxic.”
“The first stage play I ever did was a school play called 'The Wishing Chair.'”
“When you're an actor, wealth is about choice.”
“If people call my book an actor's memoir I will be very upset. I can't bear anything too literal, so it has elements of truth and elements of fiction sitting side by side.”
“If you're looking for reps, write letters that are short and professional. Make sure you have a really great reel of yourself. If there are friends you know who are making short films, do them - it's all material for your reel.”
“I would like to have a baby.”
“As a woman, you do have a sense that if you can do other things, then you should. If you feel, mmm, the roles are getting a little repetitive, and you know you can write, then you should write a different role.”
“My real life memory of leaving Uni is an overwhelming excitement to be going home but also a weird numbness.”
“Dreams of a Life' and 'Fresh Meat' have left me on such a high. I'm not complaining but I'm not complacent either.”
“Tennessee Williams moves my soul.”
“I'm training in martial arts. It's a whole new world for me and I'm loving it. I do that or hot yoga; I have to do some kind of exercise.”
“Living with the notion that you might never have a permanent spot in the world is really quite a powerful metaphor.”
“I know I'm different and I don't fit in to any kind of generic mould.”
“I have a very short attention span.”
“I used 'Saved by the Bell: The College Years' as my reference point really for my 'Fresh Meat' experience.”
“Secondary school was a lot harder. That was probably my hardest time. Some of the girls were really nasty. I had to move schools because of the bullying there.”
“The chasm between independent film and commercial film is now so wide. You either have to be super-famous and get a first-time director or writer's indie script off the ground, or you're a newcomer and go and put a cape on for four years.”