Slavery is something that is all too often swept under the carpet. The shame doesn't even belong to us, but we still experience it because we're a part of the African race. If it happened to one, it happened to all. We carry that burden.

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

I never understood who all those people are behind the actors! When you see them on the red carpet on TV, you go, 'Why does that person need such a large entourage?' And then you realize that every single person there has a role to play.

It's only when you risk failure that you discover things. When you play it safe, you're not expressing the utmost of your human experience.

It's so funny, you go to acting school thinking you're going to learn how to be other people, but really it taught me how to be myself. Because it's in understanding yourself deeply that you can lend yourself to another person's circumstances and another person's experience.

I grew up in Nairobi, which is the capital of Kenya, so it's hustle and bustle, and there's always something going on.