Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I normally don't concern myself with, 'Will audiences like me or like my character?'
To see my brother, see my friends, I think it builds character for me, just being accountable for myself.
I only like playing people who are completely different from me. I try to mould myself into that character.
I internalise every role that I do and my creative process sees me immerse myself with the setting and the character that I have at hand.
What's fun for me is to try new things and push myself and not get stuck in one genre or another, or stuck with one character or another.
I don't see myself only as a Somali character. I think of myself as an actor, and if the job fits me and I like the story, I will go for it.
I have three assistants, but there isn't a head assistant. All the important drawings I do myself. Every single character is also done by me.
It used to frustrate me when I'd get celebrities on my shows and I had to meet them as this ludicrous magician character rather than as myself.
I'm an actor, in particular, that likes to have a mask or something that can help me distance myself from the character. Like the moustache or an accent.
I would quite like to do a different accent or play something so different from myself because Olivia, the character I play in this film, is similar to me.
I was able to tour successfully and attract a fairly wide audience, but it was hard to assert myself as a stand-up because people were more familiar with me as a TV character.
In terms of jumping into a character's skin, I try to immerse myself in the role as much as possible to bring me closer to them. All I do is what's required to achieve what I want to achieve.
I don't know if I've ever played a character who's close to me. There have been some elements of myself in different roles. Sometimes, I show one side of myself and then completely conceal the other.
I never really read a character before that I connected with more than Peeta. So, for me, if I couldn't get that job I was like, 'Well, if I can't play practically myself in a movie, what can I play?'
I started as an actor in the theater playing a lot of character parts, and suddenly, I found myself in this place where it felt like I was getting locked into a kind of a stereotype, and it did bother me.
It's easier to play a dim character, for me, because I have a natural bent for comedy. It's not intrinsic for me to be crafty, so I would have to go outside for a source of origin. I think of myself as pretty dim.
Psychologically, I'll always be a fat girl because that's what my character is built on. I always got a buzz out of people telling me I was ugly. I went out of my way to un-beautify myself. I didn't want anyone's approval.
I've made up little mantras for myself, catchphrases from a screenwriting book that doesn't exist. One is 'Write the movie you'd pay to go see.' Another is 'Never let a character tell me something that the camera can show me.'
I try to play characters who are different from myself, so I feel like this character is someone who is really different. I actually think that if I did what he did in this movie, I would get a restraining order put against me.
I want to create a TV show that people will watch and say, 'Hey, I have a favorite character,' or 'Hey, that person reminds me of myself,' or 'Hey, I've made some of those same mistakes, or those are some of the things I've dealt with.'
Sometimes I am a different character in different languages. I have different enjoyment from them. Sometimes different answers come out of me. Like, I didn't even know that about me. I get to know myself through different languages, actually.
The Ricky that the public see, whether it be on screen as a character, in public, or on social media, is very outgoing, and I'm a bit of a class clown. Then those who are closest to me know that I can be very sensitive. I can be quite insecure about myself.
The fact that I get to play a queer Filipino on television and another queer character in 'Crazy Rich Asians' is huge. I never thought I'd have a career being myself. I always thought that being an actor in Hollywood meant that I would have to put that side of me on the back burner.
My creative workday starts with strong breakfast tea and a few minutes of journaling, both of which help me get my head in the story. So much of story-building for me involves immersing myself in the character and situation I'll be working on, just the way an actor does when playing a role.
One doesn't simply write about Lyndon Johnson. You get the Johnson treatment from beyond the grave - arm around you, nose to nose. I should admit that he also reminds me of my father, quite an overbearing and narcissistic character. And in some ways, he reminds me of myself. Another workaholic.
I feel like within each of us is a million different people that we could reveal and that we can be sometimes... And for me, the process of acting isn't so much about finding the person outside of myself and mimicking them but, rather, releasing parts of myself and adding them to the character.
I do this acting thing mostly for myself. I like to make a connection and communicate with the audience to make myself feel less lonely. I also do it to develop my own character, so sometimes I do it to just be away in a certain area that I've never been to. But mostly, the story has to do something for me.
I grew up in a very culturally diverse area of America, and I am very proud to come from there. I am also proud that my inner circle of friends has never been defined by race but by the content of their character. Any former teammate or anyone who has met me can attest to this, and I pride myself on not being a judgmental person.