Quotes About Diversity

There's enough of a willingness in the West to do sympathetic movies about Arab roles.

Our willingness to acknowledge that we only see half the picture creates the conditions that make us more attractive to others. The more sincerely we acknowledge our need for their different insights and perspectives, the more they will be magnetized to join us.

I've seen an increasing willingness to hire Canadians for lead roles that shoot up here. When I started, they would always just fly in L.A. people to do the lead roles.

There has been a genuine willingness from many in the arts sector to try to understand people who are not within the arts elite.

You can criticize ESPN for a lot of things, but one thing you have to give them credit for is their willingness to put women in nontraditional roles.

I enjoy it; my experiences abroad have taught me the importance of an open mind and have given me a willingness to wander off the beaten path - not only to keep life interesting, but also to understand in a meaningful way that things do not look the same from every vantage point.

I run Willow Management, which is the biggest agency for other short actors. We look after performers who are either under five feet and over seven feet tall.

In country music, there are certain female artists, like Gretchen Wilson, where you're going to find lesbians because they're responding to that more aggressive side.

There are plus-size women who've paved the way - Rebel Wilson, Gabby Sidibe, Melissa McCarthy. I can't wait for the day when I can have a conversation, and it's not about the size of my pants but how I prepared for the role.

When I started playing, I played in R&B bands. I played James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and all that.

I grew up in the age of variety shows. 'Flip Wilson,' 'Carol Burnett,' 'Donny and Marie,' and 'Sonny and Cher' - I never missed an episode. These shows had it all: singing, dancing, and sketch comedy. One minute, they're ice-skating with pyrotechnics, the next they're doing a scene on a gigantic set. I just couldn't get enough.

Fat bodies are used comically. I respect Rebel Wilson so much, and Melissa McCarthy. I love them both. But so often, I feel like fat female bodies are used as props.

I can't see why we can't toss in a Junior Walker or Wilson Pickett number in every once in a while.

I grew up when one of America's greatest black playwrights, August Wilson, was writing about life in Pittsburgh, but I never saw myself in any of his straight-male plays. And then I see 'Angels,' which was so honest and painful, and it had this black drag queen in it, Belize, with a big heart. I finally had a character to relate to.

I got to sing with Placido Domingo... I got to sing with Aaron Neville, who is one of my favorites. Got to sing with Brian Wilson, one of the great high tenors. And Ricky Skaggs, a bluegrass tenor. I'm also proud of my musical friendship with Emmylou Harris.

It is actually getting much harder for someone from an ordinary background to break through the ranks. In the period from 1964 to 1997, every single Prime Minister - from Harold Wilson to John Major - was the product of a state school.

I grew up on variety shows. I'm from the '60s and '70s. I loved watching Flip Wilson. I loved watching Sid Caesar's 'Your Show of Shows,' 'The Ed Sullivan Show.' I love all of those variety shows.

When I used to say I wanted to play at Wimbledon, they used to laugh in my face and say, 'What are you talking about, you're from Hyderabad, and you're supposed to... cook.' That's one of the notions that people have in this side of the world - it is our 'culture', within quotes, you know, to say what a woman can or cannot do.

It doesn't matter where you're from. You can be from the hood or the suburbs. You can be poor with no education or a college graduate. No matter your background, you can win.

I think what you're seeing is a profound recognition on the part of the American people that gays and lesbians and transgender persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our cousins, our friends, our co-workers, and that they've got to be treated like every other American. And I think that principle will win out.

Win on your merit, not your skin color.

It's funny because when you're a Welshman living in England, you always get the mickey taken out of you for being Welsh, and then when you go to Wales with an English accent because you were born in Bristol and grew up in Birmingham, they say you're English. You can never win.

We hope to win over new listeners who would normally never listen to an Aly & AJ record. That's our greatest expectation we've set for ourselves.

I had ordered long legs, but they never arrived. My eyes are weird too, one is gray and the other is green. I have a crooked smile and my nose looks like a ski slope. No, I would not win a Miss contest.