I think that of musicals - especially the big, splashy ones - require an actor that's also part cheerleader, too, and that's really tough to do if it's not something that really grabs you and your heart's not in it.

I was the first guest star asked to appear on 'Glee,' which we all know became huge.

Something in me was instinctively drawn to the life of a misunderstood, brilliant and wilful artist. I wanted to become one.

My interest in acting came from seeing Broadway shows on summer trips to New York as a child. It was the original production of 'A Chorus Line' in an easy tie with the first 10 -15 minutes of Dustin Hoffman in 'Tootsie' that hooked me on the romantic idea that the impossible, difficult life of a struggling actor was for me.

For me, as a woman in one of the less diverse fields - electrical engineering, which is what I studied in college - it was hard to persist and really build a career. Some of the things I experienced were really scary, and they weren't experiences that I wanted for my daughter.

Doing 'SunTrap' after 'The Chase' is dipping into something different. That's the whole basis of what I wanted to do with my career. I didn't want to do the same thing all the time.

Going to university is, and should be, so much more than a mechanical process of grinding out a degree qualification for a pre-determined career path.

The paradox of being in an industry where other people are usually the gatekeepers: publishers, editors - there are a lot of barriers to having control over your career. But coming out of hip-hop, the mindset was always to create your own.