Personally, I don't ever want to depend on makeup to feel beautiful.

I have a very ostrich mentality. I feel like I have my head in the sand so no one can see me.

Ralph Fiennes was a pivotal influence on me. He asked me, 'So what is it you want to do?' I very shyly, timidly admitted that I wanted to be an actor. He sighed, and he said, 'Lupita, only be an actor if you feel there is nothing else in the world you want to do - only do it if you feel you cannot live without acting.'

As human beings, we aren't as individual as we'd like to believe we are. And I think that's what makes acting possible. Despite the fact that I have not experienced something, I have it in my human capacity to imagine it and to put myself in someone else's shoes, and to take someone else's circumstances personally.

I have the opportunity to learn about the fashion world, and I appreciate it as an art form... But I never want it to take over my acting.

I come from a very close class. I lucked out because drama schools are often very competitive... I have fourteen classmates.