Quotes from Jasmine Cephas Jones

That theater community that comes with acting and being in the theater is second nature to me. It's in my blood.

I've lived in the same apartment since seventh grade. It's in my name now; my mom moved upstate.

I love being on Broadway and it's awesome and a dream come true but also it's about the work and making sure you're doing what you're doing right.

My SAG card was from doing 'Blue Bloods,' an episode called 'Justice Served.'

In 'Blindspotting' I play a girl from Oakland, I've got an accent, I've got long, '90s 'Poetic Justice' braids, and in 'Monsters and Men' I play a girl from Brooklyn.

My father would take me to auditions and put me in the room right in the corner because he was watching me; he couldn't get a babysitter. He'd be at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the LES until four in the morning, trying to tell his story and using his craft, but because he had a kid that didn't let him stop.

Sometimes you get the luxury of having a script for a really long time, and you can get to talk with the director or the producers, and evolve with the role.

I'm still a woman of color in this business and there are times when you still have to walk through extra doors and have extra things to prove.

I went to school for singing, middle school at LaGuardia High School. Followed by Berkeley College of Music and afterwards I went to acting school at the Neighborhood Playhouse for Theater.

I think, any of your audition songs should really be a song that you are so confident with and can pull out of your back pocket. Find a song that shows your entire range very quickly.

You have these people that fight wars for their country, and then they come home and they need to attend to their mental health, and they can't get a job. That's a real thing.

High school at LaGuardia really was like 'Fame.' People would sing in the halls and look for ways to show off their talent.

Hamilton' has changed my life in so many ways. I really do have a family from that show. The people that I shared that stage with every night- they mean so much to me and they're so special and so talented. I'm just a fan of every single one of them and it was an honor to share that stage with them.

I think 'Hamilton' has made me look at myself deeper as an artist and what I'm looking for as an artist.

When people are feeling a bunch of feelings or there's something happening within the world, a lot of people get healing through music, or a lot of people's go-to entertainment to find some answers or understand something.

I look up to my parents because they were both following their dreams. But I also know the heartache and I saw how hard it is and that you really, really gotta love what you do.

Whatever character I play, I want to inspire. I don't want to just be the girlfriend or be the wife.

There's no greater feeling than knowing that you helped in transforming someone and moving them through art. It's a beautiful thing.

I remember going on iTunes and 'Hamilton' was like the number one rap album, above like Fetty Wap, which is just impossible, like a Broadway cast album.

I grew up being that kid backstage doing my math homework and my father made sure I knew from everybody in the cast to the lighting people and to respect everyone in the theater and all the way down to the janitor. It's a part of my childhood. It's what I know really.

The first time I'm nominated for an Emmy and I get to share it with my dad who introduced me to theater at a very, very young age, it's a very full-circle type thing.

Writing 'Blue Bird' gave me strength, courage, and power from my own words and melodies in a time when I needed it the most.

My dad, he's a great father, but he's also been one of my mentors.

When you're constantly stuck in your comfort zone, it means you're not growing.