The best characters are always wretchedly flawed

A zombie apocalypse isn't the most jovial situation.

I've always been extremely physically active.

I got an M.F.A. in acting from NYU, and part of our training is to learn how to use swords in combat situations in a performance and Shakespeare plays where you have to fight.

If you're a fighter, you recognize a fighter.

I write about African women, that's really my topic. I have no shame or qualm in it because it's a very underrepresented topic, which is part of the reason I started to write.

People with nothing to hide don't usually feel the need to say so.

I always used to say hybrids would rule the world - people who have an understanding of many cultures and can relate to them with ease. And then along came Obama.

My favorite TV shows are Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, Modern Family, and Veep.

You look at women like Lena Dunham, you look at how women are kind of crafting their own space on the screen. I want to add to that.

My assumption is I'm not going to be recognized. But when I am, I'm like, "Dang, you know who I am?" I always think I look so different.

The most successful men work smart, not hard

I love sci-fi because it leads in the imagination, and I always say it has the most intelligent fans in the world.

To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.

.., by universal custom, your enemy is never more polite than when he is planning or has planned your destruction.

The meaning of life... I think the meaning of life is, I think it's love.

The more telly you do, the more it feels like a factory.

I did play every little note on the guitar on that record

Sometimes things in life happen that allow us to understand our priorities very clearly. Ultimately you can see those as gifts.

It doesn't matter that you didn't believe in us," said Mr. Ibis. "We believed in you.

My confidence level is a tremendous high.