Now, there doesn't have to necessarily be a white man in the lead role. That's the way forward. That's diversity. It's cool if an Indian is playing the lead role in a Hollywood project, and we should...

Personally, I'd like us to have a few more women on the 'Today' programme.

If I only get to play Malaysian roles, there wouldn't be very many roles for me to play.

Most criminal defendants do not get adequate representation because there are not enough public defenders to represent them. There is a lot that is wrong.

'Glee' has made me feel beautiful.

As far as being a plus-size woman, I play a plus-size character by default, and for me, the visibility - that, I think, is key.

I've played 'Latin-looking spiv, third from the right' so many times I can't count.

Magic is still a very white-male-dominated field.

Having a Black woman write words for another Black woman, there is innateness in that, there is a knowing in that.

I never feel insecure when there are two female leads.

It's time for gay people to be in the industry and talking about their stories.

What was so exciting for me about Wakanda and seeing 'Black Panther' was how incredible the women were in it.

Seeing all of these beautiful brown faces and having that patience for them to live in whatever it was that they were living in; I was just so blown away by the artistry that I recognized in...

One of my mom's favorite movies growing up was 'Big' with Tom Hanks. I thought, 'Oh, OK, what if we do something like that but not like that. Something more modern, with a different perspective, and...

Because I didn't have any queer, lesbian, female role models I hated my own femininity and had to look deep within myself to create an identity that worked for me. Pop culture just doesn't hand us...

It's hard to be what you can't see.

When I first came out to L.A., Hollywood's idea of a Latina was Mexican. It was almost like they had never seen or heard of an Afro-Latina before.

My father was, like, the token bad white guy in all the old Jackie Chan/Bruce Lee films.

Filmmakers would compliment my work, but when casting for a heroine, they'd never think of me.

There are roles I am never considered for. Meryl Streep roles, let's say. Why not? I really wanted to do 'Ironweed,' for example, because the depression era in this country was one of the best for...

'Power' would never have gotten on the air if the folks at Starz weren't saying to themselves, 'This is an underserved audience.' It was a financial decision, not a benevolent decision based on a need...

I've long been a fan of OWN, I've watched shows on that network and just felt like they really love centering the Black women in their stories, and I feel like their stories are oftentimes beautifully...

We're always steered towards what is good in the canon by a male perspective. I like to do plays with a female protagonist who finds her way through. My way is unusual.

About the time I was 7, I got really into black-exploitation films, so I made my own Wonder Woman, but I made her black.

Although I'm aware of how under-represented we are, I sometimes forget how desperately Arabs who aren't in the film business wish for better stories about us.

Black Panther's' box-office success showed that people all over the globe wanted to see this movie.

You cannot speak on behalf of a nation when you have no mandate to do so.

I want the next 16-year-old kid who looks like me to know he's not automatically the bad guy. Hopefully, that kid can look at Mustafa Ali and say, 'Hey, he's not the bad guy, and I don't have to be,...

When I open many books, or most leading women's magazines, or see almost all TV shows, I don't find myself at all. I am completely anonymous. My value system is not there.

Trans actors, just like cisgender actors, need to build experience before getting lead roles.