Quotes from Lorraine Toussaint

I have read every book in the 'Dune' series and every Anne Rice book.

As a modern woman, there are things I take for granted, and that shows up in the way I sit, the way I walk, the way I think, and what I know to be possible.

Sometimes the character will go into a completely different direction than I expected once the cameras start rolling. That's what I love about what I do.

We actors are superstitious creatures. We do all the homework, and we put all of the components together, but there's always one key aspect that we're not in charge of, really, and that's magic. You are always on the lookout for where and how that magic is going to ignite.

I have a big life, a small child, I work, I do a lot of things, so I'm often playing catch-up with what's current.

I was born odd. I was a strange child. My grandmother was always praying over me. She was always rubbing me and praying over me.

Pretend and real are all real to a psychopath.

I am so proud of Amelia Boynton. I can burst with pride.

I don't think anyone would disagree with this: You are self-directed in daytime, and that's it. So come with it, and bring it on the first take.

We all have a dark side. Most of us go through life avoiding direct confrontation with that aspect of ourselves, which I call the shadow self. Theres a reason why. It carries a great deal of energy.

How well I walk my talk, and not talk my talk, determines the quality of my engagement, of all my experience with what is quite personally my God. I'm my greatest teacher, and within me, I have the power to push myself deeper and higher.

My job as an actor is to cover and expose in varying allowance that - so that the audience can peek through the window to the people I create.

I keep waiting for someone to cast me as the angel or the witch or the immortal of some kind because so much of the reading I do for my own pleasure is fantasy, horror, or sci-fi.

People's faith, people's beliefs are such a personal thing, and it defies definition. I'm so rarely interested in discussing what I believe or what you believe. I think it's liquid, anyway.

I think if I weren't an actress, I might have made a halfway decent attorney! I like the way they think.

When you're playing a real character, you want to honor that person and receive inspiration from that person. They need to anoint you in some way that allows you to borrow just a small piece of their soul. That is the flame.

'Body of Proof' was interesting because... I didn't feel I needed to prove anything in that audition. I didn't over-prepare it, but I was just very relaxed in it.

I hope that whenever my daughter has a negative experience, I'm there to talk about it and remind her how we feel when it's done to her so that she doesn't do it to others.

As an actor, I usually have to find something to love about my character in order to play her.

I love characters that are very layered and complex. It's more exciting and different than any simple role- plus, I love a good challenge.

Anything you need, you can get on YouTube. It's wacky.

Once I'm on set, the only thing I'm really interested in is being in the room. Being present. And trusting that what I've done is sufficient, and I'm also trusting that I've also left room for magic.

When you eliminate vanity from an art form, and I would think that this would be any art form, what is left is an opportunity to be incredibly naked and truthful.

I love to see how a character unfolds off the page in a project. I don't always know how the character is going to turn out, even with the script being there. It's not always clear where that character is going to take me. Or where I will take them.