Ruby Rose

It sounds cliche, but I'm mostly androgynous in what I wear. I'll wear a lot of tomboy clothes but still dress glam if I have a red carpet event. It's a bit of a mix, but mostly androgynous.

I could live my whole life being so comfortable doing things I've already worked hard to not be nervous at, or I could continue to push the envelope and make myself uncomfortable and learn and see what I'm capable of, and acting is definitely that.

Acting is my life. It's what I live and breathe.

My mom is a painter and an artist. She would play music, and she always had very good taste in music, fashion, and art. She was also a young single mom, so I think she had really good style; she was really free... just really inspiring in her own way and allowed me to find the direction I wanted to take in my life.

I experimented with fashion as it being more like art, allowing what I wore to express what I was feeling on the inside. Androgyny, rock culture, and grunge - they definitely had an effect on the things that made me feel cool and comfortable.

All I've wanted to be is someone people look up to. It's funny - everyone says I'm controversial. I've never worked out what it is about me that's controversial. I've never had a DUI; I've never been in a brawl; you've never seen photos of me walking out of clubs at 5 A.M.

The greatest thing about having done 'Orange' are the doors that have opened for me, and people have been able to see me, like the executives and the casting directors - also, all of the fantastic directors and writers for independent films.

My mum used to wear the guys' Chesty Bonds tanks, and I used to end up wearing them after she'd finish with them. She's a painter, and they would be covered in paint splatters. She would wear them and wear them until they were super-soft, and then I'd get them. But I was just a kid, so they were like a dress on me.

When I booked 'Orange,' I thought things were going to change a little bit, and I'd be a little more busy, but obviously I underestimated it. I don't think anyone knew that my character would be taken to so well.

When I was young and getting bullied at school and really not feeling like I would amount to much and staying isolated, my mom used to say to me a lot about how you treat people and always having dignity and respect.

I feel the most confident in whatever I'm feeling at that time. Sometimes it's leather pants, a leather jacket, and a band tee, and it's motorcycle-chic. Then there are times that it's skinny jeans, a tank top, and a denim jacket. It's whatever I'm feeling that day.

You don't wake up at 18 and necessarily become the person you want to be as an adult - you have to work hard to become them.