Quotes from Lela Loren

You don't actually need confidence or good self-esteem to be successful. You just need to have courage.

I love evening tuberoses. My mother used to have tuberoses in her garden, and in the summers in Sacramento, it would get really hot and then cool down in the evenings. You'd walk up the driveway, and it made it feel like 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'

Professional creativity requires more than inspiration, talent, and discipline - it requires an endurance that few are aware of and even fewer have.

Now, everyone has their talents, but working with props is not one of mine.

Everybody has their own agenda, and that makes 'Power' a dark world. There aren't any really clean characters.

In the world of 'Power,' no good deed goes unpunished. I don't really look at it as karma in the world of 'Power.' Whenever any character thinks they're on safe ground, they get the world pulled up from under them.

'Power' usually starts principal photography around mid September, and the first table read is always like one big family reunion. The most common comment we hear is how 'well rested' everyone looks... something that can't be said by the end of the season.

Sometimes you have to let your life fall apart and let it come back together on its own and learn to care for yourself in a different way.

In an industry still dominated by men, working with a female director on an episode written by a woman, helmed by a female showrunner, all while doing scenes with your screen sister is like getting to see the big five at the wild animal park. It's awesome.

I did commercial fishing in Alaska in college. I was the only girl on a fishing boat. It definitely tested so many aspects of my personality.

Puerto Rican culture is very different from Mexican culture. Part of the Mexican psychology is the idea of being an immigrant or being illegal or being confused with that. That doesn't happen with Puerto Ricans, because you're a commonwealth.

I personally think 'Power' is much more similar to 'The Sopranos' in that it deals with a character who is leading a double life and wants to become legitimate.

The U.S. is a rainbow of people with an endless scope of stories. My hope is that writing stories about people of color will become instinctual rather than something to be pushed for.

Time seems to slow down after the winter holiday. New York loses all of its winter romance and is just cold.

The power of sexual attraction is a real thing.

One of the wonderful things about 'Power' and why fans often say it makes their heart race is it's set up like a horror film because the audience is, like, four or five steps ahead of the characters.

'Power' is a beast to produce. Everyone behind the scenes brings a thoughtfulness and dauntless work ethic day in and day out.

When we are filming, it often feels like we're flying blind. As an actor, you have no idea if your choices are right or if they work. Some scenes feel like a complete Hail Mary. Imagine you're blindfolded and cook a massive Thanksgiving feast with only new recipes - without getting to taste any of them along the way.

I had fallen in love once with someone, and I remember it being so distinct, where after the first time they'd hug me, I never wanted another man to ever touch me ever again.

Before 'Power,' I got down to $86 in my bank account. I don't know if I feel successful as much as I feel relieved because for the first time in my life I'm not scared about how I'm going to pay my rent, and I can start to put money away.

While I resonate deeply with my maternal cultural heritage, I identify as American.

I don't think I ever sit there and think to kick a wound harder.

Usually we have pick-up shots to film after all the main work is done; sometimes we even do them after our wrap party. Just like when you're packing up and moving, it's the little things that end up taking the most time, and there is no romance in the clean up.

Love is still something I'm learning about.