Sanaa Lathan Quotes

You can never be happy when you're constantly comparing yourself to others. Keep your eyes ahead.

When you have a play, you have to be on every night.

I come from the theater, and I've done a lot of character work in the theater, but Hollywood stuff in film and TV, they've been more leading lady/ingenue type roles.

When you're on a set it can be very tedious and slow. It's just not as big as when you see it on film.

I liked the fact that there were so many different representations of black women and black men in the movie. It wasn't like we all had the same agenda.

I was working straight for nine months and I'm exhausted. I'm ready to relax for a little while and read. I don't want to work for work sake; I have to be excited about it.

I did work out every day. I needed it to have the endurance to do what needed to be done and not get hurt. I have such a new respect for action stars now.

Sometimes when you don't care, people are attracted to that.

I think Hollywood is so driven by money, the people who are making the decisions are not necessarily reflective of the melting pot, so what stories are you going to want to tell? You're going to want to tell stories about yourself.

I feel like people grow the most when they step outside of the box that they are used to. For me, it's constantly challenging myself to step outside of my comfort zone. As soon as you do that, then you grow, but then you get comfortable again.

My dad is a director/producer and my mom is a dancer; she performed with Alvin Ailey, but I didn't even think about becoming an actress.

The Alien is gross, scary. There is something in a human being that looks at them and sees it as a cockroach. You can never feel nurturing towards the cockroach.

Good storytelling appeals to me - good writing.

You would never expect a black woman to be the hero.

I have dated all races, and I believe you should be free to do whatever you want.

People make jokes about how black people are the first ones to be killed off.

I look forward to going to work. Everybody is at the top of their game. It was like we just got to play.

In this day and age, especially with all the media and television, social media, and the Internet, we are constantly being compared and comparing ourselves to others' lives and journeys. Keep your eyes on your own road.

If you're in love and there's that chemistry, that's what it's all about.

I've never gotten any complaints about my headscarf from a man. You can be sexy with a head wrap!

To make a movie is very grueling at times. Long, long hours and cold weather.

I had never picked up a basketball before. I went through a grueling audition process. It was almost as if I was learning to walk. It would be like teaching somebody to dance ballet for a role.

If someone has already done a role I'm about to do, I won't watch the original until after I'm finished playing the role.

CGI is done after the film is done. It's through the computer. Most of the film is not computer-generated special effects. Most of it is that creature that is in the room with you.

In terms of facial creams or lotions, I try to switch it up and stay as natural as possible. l like Le Mer facial cream for when I have an event. It's very rich and sometimes too rich for some people, but I like it.

In 1979, Alien came out and Sigourney was in it with a bunch a guys. Nobody at that time expected the woman to be the hero, so that was a tradition that started.

I'll eventually go back to theater because the feeling of being on stage where you have the audience right there, you can't replace that with anything.

I think I'm a character actress in a leading lady's body, but the industry doesn't really see me that way.

Some of us just have to work harder to stay in the game.