Diversity needs to operate on every level. It's great that the Oscars have highlighted it, but black actors getting nominated shouldn't be the only result. There's so much more that needs to be done.

I've always had sort of an interest in American history, full stop, and especially people who contributed to the civil rights struggle.

I auditioned for 'Loving' two years before we started shooting, so in the hopes that I would be playing Mildred, I watched it again. Also it's one of the best documentaries I've seen. I found this couple interminably fascinating; even if I didn't get the part, I just wanted to know more about them and their story.

I'm shy at public speaking, which is tough.

People have these ideas about comic books and their adaptations as flashy and sort of surface-y, broad-strokes-type projects, but they're not, really.

I think a lot of actors feel like outsiders or miscreants. This profession provides an opportunity to play out all the different parts of ourselves.

I love the Greeks. There's no messing around - it's all do or die with them.

Often, it's easier to play someone further away from you because it's clearer who they are. I think if you want to make a performance authentic, there are a certain amount of leaps of faith into the unknown that you have to take. Otherwise, you're not really risking anything.

I become very territorial about my identity because it's been hijacked by so many people with their own projections.

My family very much adored me, and at school, I was an object of fascination.

I think if you want to make a performance authentic, there are a certain amount of leaps of faith into the unknown that you have to take. Otherwise, you're not really risking anything. I think if you don't risk something in art, it's not really important.

People have always made assumptions about me. I become very territorial about my identity because it's been hijacked by so many people with their own projections.

I like connecting with people, and that's what good art is: a point of connection. There's nothing better, on stage or on film.

I didn't become an actor to make money. And I didn't become an actor to be famous - though people always gasp if you say that, as if it's unfathomable that an actor doesn't want to be a star.

There are no actions involved in 'beautiful.' It's such an inactive thing, and it's so subject to each individual's taste and appreciation. It's a lovely word, but I feel like it's been hijacked by really boring, dull people who don't understand how to use words.

I think it's a good thing for everybody that we see the entire world reflected back at us on our screens.

Sometimes it's hard to play someone so similar to you, because you can muddy the character. Often, it's easier to play someone further away from you, because it's clearer who they are.

Sometimes, people know me from Marvel's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' But that usually only happens in America.

We need to have a conversation about the fact that black faces are not as visible as they should be, that there is huge inequality everywhere in terms of race.

We all have as much right to take up our space in the world as one another.

I was an attention seeker, always in trouble.

I am not hugely famous; I am not a name. For me, it's not the size of the role, it's the material and the people you are working with.

I think kids are amazing. You kind of just deal with stuff, don't you? It's only years later that you have to spend thousands in therapy.

The good thing about auditioning is that you get to test yourself and see if you can play this character - you're also auditioning yourself.