Susan Kelechi Watson

I've trained in dance for most of my life, but ballet was the thing I left behind the earliest because they felt like I didn't have the right body for it, and I didn't like that and never felt like I could be a part of that dance structure.

There is nothing like being able to develop a three-dimensional character over a long period of time. Sometimes you aren't able to fully portray a character because you only have a couple of scenes to do it in, and you don't get the full life and background of that character.

There was a time when I just didn't have the opportunities, which meant going without things in my life - whether it was clothes, or food, or money - and living a really bare-bones life.

What I say is that there's this culture and this vibe and this community in Brooklyn that's so amazing and wonderful, and it has influence on the world. That's the part of Brooklyn that I love and I begin to miss.

Historically, and even now, women have been asked to give up on their dreams way more than men, mostly - because it's sort of like you're supposed to once you become a wife and mother. That's a generalization; that's what the mentality has been.

I think, so often, we can let our circumstances dictate what our value is. And I have to remember that my value is the same whether I'm in the dirt or I'm picked up and dusted off.

I'm the ultimate studier of comedy. I grew up in a very funny household. My dad is the king of one-liners; my brothers are great at telling stories, and my mom is funny without knowing it.

Some of the joy in acting is switching it up: being able to do something that's different than what you've been doing.

With my representation of a black woman in the world today, there's such a powerful response from my community about what it means to have black representation on television. That response is so overwhelming and so strong that I just have to express my own gratitude for it, because I understand the necessity for it.

As a kid, you're so at the mercy of the people around you, the people raising you, your environment.

This is an age where you could put anything on YouTube; people can make films on their own.

A month before I booked 'This Is Us,' I was like, 'Maybe I should move to Montreal and work in a coffee shop.'