Adina Porter

All I wanted was to be an actor and have a happy family, and I did it. I still remember when I was doing shows in my parents' living room, and everyone had to watch me.

I think that when I'm an actor, I get hired, and you say jump three inches, I'll jump three inches. I just kind of trust what the writer's vision is.

I'm a bit of a wuss. I'll even watch, like, a Tom Cruise 'Jack Reacher' movie where, I mean, there's a lot of action, but the violence is no real violence, but I still hide my face because there might be violence.

I've worked in this business long enough that I know people who complain, like, 'My character does this, and my character does that,' and I think it's just ego talking.

Life is very short. Try to enjoy your 'now.' Many people think that when they become such-and-such then they will be happy. I personally don't think it is healthy to postpone your happiness. My message is, 'Enjoy the moment.'

I thought, because of 'The 100' and 'Apocalypse,' that I knew everything about what life after an apocalypse would be - but Ryan Murphy and the writers of 'American Horror Story' have shown a whole other side of an apocalypse.

Every once in a while, I'll have an acting role that allows me to look at something in my life and work it out.

When you trust, and you open your heart, and you think - well, maybe not heart - when you put down your guard and you let someone in and they betray you, that guard goes up really hard.

I am first-generation American, so I didn't grow up in the South or have any relatives who were slaves. My forefathers were colonized.

This whole thing about announcing stuff and sharing it online is a new phenomenon. Keeping things private is really, really easy and simple.

Work is hard, but being a mom is harder.

Incredibly lucky to be an actor at this period in history. I'm able to work in this business and look put-together - sexy, even - with natural hair.