When someone on screen portrays a character that behaves in a way you don't expect, you're subverting ideas. So if there's a Venn diagram between why people are drawn to the characters I play, it may be that. But I'd like to think that the craft of acting and the choices I make as an actor are drawing people on their own merits.
I was sort of always the class clown, but I think that was confusing for my teachers because I had the grades to back it up. I would be finished with assignments and goof off, because I'm done. And so, it would be like, 'Oh, she has like a 4.2 GPA, but she's also just like walking around the halls with the hall pass and bothering other students.'
I have always gravitated toward levity and my parents; I'm sure they have a VHS tape of me when I'm making jokes and trying to make faces when the family was taking a picture.
I think it's important to make art for a myriad of reasons. The least of which is that I think laughter is medicinal, and I think there is an escapism aspect - an act of self-care.
My feet are firmly planted in my political ideology. To me, it's being authentic in every area, and that includes politics.
I've always been kind of precocious, but my journey sort of solidified when I was in college and majored in theater. That's how I knew I wanted to spend my life writing, telling, and performing stories.
I've always performed. From the time that I was little, I was pretty precocious and always gravitated toward performing arts. But I was scared at first, deciding to do it for a living. So, initially, I majored in journalism, and I was pretty miserable.
I'm drawn to subversive material and material that speaks to communities and people who tend to be marginalized, and telling those stories in ways that subvert expectations. That's always been fun for me to play and always been fun for me to write.
