Danai Gurira Quotes

"Zimbabweans are so smart and witty and able to weave together tons of situations and experiences into terminologies that are just utterly original."

"It's something I've constantly found shocking - all this astounding talent amongst black women that never gets to be seen or heard."

"I love writing for other actors, women of African descent and people who are generally underrepresented."

"I grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe. And I had a pretty idyllic childhood. I felt that I was kind of this outspoken girl, I was considered. I was a girl who talked a lot and didn't think my voice had any less value than anyone around me. Apparently, that was strange."

"We moved to Zimbabwe when I was five, some years after Zimbabwe had gained independence."

"You Americans, you have no idea how much your stuff infiltrates the rest of the world!"

"I've always been attracted to action stuff."

"I hate horror movies! I avoid them like the plague. I don't like getting scared."

"My artistic spirit is not nurtured by blogospheres."

"A zombie apocalypse isn't the most jovial situation."

"Back in the day, I used to read 'Archie,' but I haven't been a comic book aficionado."

"I got an M.F.A. in acting from NYU, and part of our training is to learn how to use swords in combat situations in a performance and Shakespeare plays where you have to fight."

"I've always been extremely physically active."

"I don't care about the quality of the film as a whole, but I loved 'Salt.' I loved it!"

"I always used to say hybrids would rule the world - people who have an understanding of many cultures and can relate to them with ease. And then along came Obama."

"I create fictional narratives, but it's based on literal people."

"You look at women like Lena Dunham, you look at how women are kind of crafting their own space on the screen. I want to add to that."

"I'm all about getting the training. Don't roll out of bed and say, 'I can do this.'"

"I'm not only a person of color, I'm also a woman. And I'm not only a woman, I'm also a woman from the Third World. All those elements put together means I have a lot to do."

"Actors may not realize the extent of their own power. Acting is creation. It's them bringing their own stuff, letting it marinate in their soul, in their creative engine."

"I call myself Zimerican. I was born in the Midwest to Zimbabwean parents. My father was a professor at Grinnell College in Iowa."

"I went to Macalester in Minnesota to study social psychology, the study of why people do what they do. I was really looking at race, population, gender, and how we psychologically function in a way that affects our societal outcomes around those issues."

"Why can't black women on stage tell stories that can affect white men in the audience?"

"I never consider myself a minority. I see people who look like me in Barbados, in Trinidad, in Haiti, in London, and in Brooklyn. So I don't know what the heck anyone means when they call me a 'minority.' There's something about that word to me. It just minimalizes people."

"If a story is telling a truth, then why shouldn't it affect everybody?"

"I'm a child of academics."

"I want to see women of African descent shine."

"We are used to women's narratives being defined through the male perspective. I challenge that as a concept."

"If my work is on the stage, you can be rested assured I'm going to make use of it as a platform for activism as much as possible."

"I want women and girls of African descent and of color to be able to not have to keep searching for stories about themselves."