It baffles me that everything is so homogenized, because the world isn't, and yet we continue to support things that are so incredibly milquetoast.

My family supported me before any of this crazy notion of moving out to Hollywood and staking my claim. That support has never waned.

People think that I have this wonderful hourglass figure, but I owe that to designer Tadashi Shoji because he cuts for me really well.

I think diversity is something that should be celebrated because it's who we are as a world, and little kids need to be able to turn on the TV and see real-world representations of themselves. It's very important.

I choose projects that resonate with me on some personal level and projects that I'm afraid to do. If I'm afraid to do them, then I usually say yes, because it means that I'm not ready to go there and deal with certain aspects of the script. And that means that I need to do it, because the things that scare you only make you better and stronger.

City Year resonated with me because when I grew up, we were poor - and an education is a way out of poverty. It's a way out of the current situation that can seem isolating and hopeless for some kids.