Quotes

There's a myth out in the world that women can't work together. And I don't know if it's a chicken or an egg thing or what, but it's not true. I think it's an idea that is put out there maybe to divide and conquer. It something that I just have to write off as being a lie. If you bring good people together, regardless of gender, they're going to collaborate and support each other.

I love the excitement of being able to perform, and funnel that precociousness into a more positive form of, "Look at me, look at me!".

Never, ever quit on yourself if it's something you believe in.

I loved school, but I was very precocious. My second grade teacher would 100% agree that I had a very "strong personality". A distinctive dynamic and a strong personality. She was one of my favorite teachers - we still keep in touch now and have since the second grade. She saw that precociousness and didn't really try to change me or make me conform.

I am an optimist, without being a Pollyanna. I see the world for what it is, but at the same time I choose to believe in its possibilities. I just always think everything's going to work out. I don't know *how* it's going to work out, but it is. I've seen that time and time again in my life.

Actors are 50% ego, 50% insecure.

The day I found out I got the role [of Suzanne, aka "Crazy Eyes", on Orange Is the New Black (2013)], I had a terrible audition for another show, and so I was like, "You're done. You're not supposed to do this." And so I quit. Then 45 minutes later, I got the call that I'd got this job.