Quotes About Opportunity

Now, as a nation, we don't promise equal outcomes, but we were founded on the idea everybody should have an equal opportunity to succeed. No matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, you can make it. That's an essential promise of America. Where you start should not determine where you end up.

People keep saying Balachander discovered me. I differ. He invented me. When a stalwart like him suggests that I act in films, who am I to refuse?

I'm not a sexist. I believe if a man can to go work all his life, a woman can. Who am I to say, 'Don't do that because you're a girl?'

For the most part, if somebody approaches me and says, 'I'd like to interview you,' who am I to say no, when I spend all my days going, 'Hello, you don't know me. I'd like to ask you some questions. Do you have a little time?'

I played at Sony, Warner Bros., Universal, Big Machine, Capitol... after I played every one of those places, everyone offered me a record deal. I was just like, 'Who am I? Why do I even deserve this?' There are people busting their butts on Broadway doing this hardcore, playing three hours a night for tips, and I didn't even ask for it.

I never want to sell my soul for something I don't believe in. Because guess what? Somebody somewhere in the world would have believed in that part and should be playing it - who am I to not allow that person that opportunity?

There are times when I get a role that someone else didn't. And there are instances when someone came from nowhere and is new to the industry, beat me to a role. The director and producer know who they want to work with. Who am I to stop them from doing that?

I'll go to 185 pounds; who cares? Just give me fights.

So many guys come onto the scene who aren't supposed to be there. You pull for one, and then you see there's another and another and another, and you start to say, 'Who cares where a player was drafted? He can play football, and he can play at this level.'

If you care about social and racial justice, innovation, and humanity, become a teacher. There are amazing kids who have unlimited potential and ideas who need someone who cares about them and their learning.

When you are old enough to... play powerful parts, who cares if you are 45, 55 or 65?

It doesn't matter if you have a six-minute match on 'Superstars,' go out and steal the show. Go have a great, solid match. Somebody's going to say, 'Who cares about 'Superstars?' Nobody watches it. And it's only six minutes.' That's the wrong attitude. That's a loser's attitude, and that's what I've told dozens of talents.

You don't play as well as you want in the first half - I mean, who cares? Put it behind you. There's always a next play to be had.

I was like, 'Whoa, I'm auditioning for 'Hunger Games?' That's like my dream come true. That's like a Trekkie auditioning for 'Star Trek.'

I was going to school thinking I was going to do something entirely different, thought acting was just a hobby at that point, met Stanley Kubrick and was like, 'Whoa, this can be an art form, and you can really move people the way you do simply by acting.'

I felt perhaps 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' was a little premature. It was a huge hit around the world - it was still running in the theatres - and the Americans at that time were already shooting the remake, and I was like, 'Whoa! Give it a break of five or six years and get a little inspired, and then do it.'

I thought, 'Oh, acting is going to be great - I get to play different parts.' And then these auditions started coming up for terrorist, terrorist, terrorist, and I'm going, 'Whoa, what's this about?'

A black woman's handbook in this industry is, 'Whoa.' The chapter on 'Don't go there.' The chapter on 'How to say that nicely,' how to express that you don't like something so that you don't lose the opportunity - which is what we're doing all day long.

When the Mondays split up I looked at the others who'd rather sign on the dole than work with me and Bez, and thought: 'Whoa, you're gonna throw this opportunity away and maybe never work in music again?' There was no way we were doing that.

In a perfect world we'd want gay people to play gay people, but I think that's a good rule of thumb: Whoever gives the best audition should get the part. My problem is getting anybody to hire me for anything other than queens.

I believe that whoever is successful should help ensure that the next generation can be successful, too.

I am going to get world-wide recognition from whoever wants it, and whoever wants to challenge me.

It would be really cool to have some more roles where it doesn't matter how a character looks. You get a script, you see it, and it doesn't matter: there's no description of how the character looks in any way shape or form; it's just, whoever is right for the role is the person.

I'll play for whoever wants to have me. It's an honor to be in the discussion for anything.