Uzo Aduba

I've heard of nothing coming from nothing, but I've never heard of absolutely nothing coming from hard work.

I was pursuing the arts with theater in school, and I was doing after-school activities, but not in any real movement towards a professional career.

I used to be a huge fan of 'Lockup' on MSNBC, and that certainly has helped with my understanding of the world.

I ran track in high school very competitively, and then ran it D-1 at Boston University. I ran there on an athletic scholarship and chose BU because they had both a good track program and an arts program.

When I was little, I didn't smile much. Don't get me wrong. I was a happy kid, but I couldn't stand the space, dead center, in between my teeth. Yeah, I could whistle through it, but so what? That didn't win me many points on the playground in Medfield, Massachusetts.

I think there's something really thrilling to having to get people laughing about something, and then, when you have them in that comfort space, you can drop the weight into the texture of the story.

I am the daughter of Nigerian immigrants. My mother is a survivor of both polio and of the Igbo genocide during her country's civil war in the late 1960s.

I come from Nigeria, and we live by the idea that it takes a village. So my entire team. I live by my team: my friends, my neighbors, my teachers - they're the people who taught me how to be a free actor.

I love ensemble work. I love making pieces and building things together.

I love De la Renta. I love CoSTUME National; I think they're just incredible. And I love Marc Jacobs, too - they're also great, just a great brand.

I love physicality. I love movement very much.

I'm obsessed with 'Scandal.' I love, love, love it. I've gotten to meet all of the cast at this point, and they're all so, so nice.