Gugu Mbatha-Raw Quotes & Sayings

From the age of four, I loved ballet and tap. I was in the school band, the choir, and all my school plays. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I like being free to take on any project that inspires me and to trust that the work will speak for itself. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I always get a little bit scared reading reviews. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I like the collarbone, a very clean collarbone. I think there's something also very delicate and balletic about that part of a woman's body, and I'm not really a cleavage person, but I do like a back or a shoulder; I think there's something very alluring about backless dresses. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

This is going to sound really sad, but I didn't really have any heartthrobs when I was growing up. I was a bit of a geek. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Because I had grown up with Jane Austen novels and period dramas, I was very familiar with that period and that world. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

The 'Pride and Prejudice' with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle was something I watched on a weekly basis with my mum at home in Oxfordshire. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

When I'm not working, I'm really, really low key. I don't wear makeup unless I have to; I don't get my hair done unless I really need to. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I prefer to focus on the future. There are a lot of new stories to be heard. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I've always sung. I was really into musical theater when I was growing up. As a kid, I listened to Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone, actually, on cassette tapes. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I see L.A. as a workplace rather than somewhere to live. If I don't get out, I go crazy. If you have a little success, people treat you differently, so it's good to keep a healthy perspective. It's acting, not rocket science. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I try to put myself into whatever character I play. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I was so thrilled to be in 'Doctor Who.' It's such a wonderful experience, and the fan base that that show has never fails to surprise me. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

For me, after emotionally intense roles, I'd need to take a step back because then there's the promoting of the film which is another job in itself. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I think, irrespective of your race, everybody has moments in life where they don't fit in, or where they try to puzzle through who they really are or to find the courage of their convictions. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

It is important to be conscious of the message that you're putting out there. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get a movie to the screen. I do feel a certain element of responsibility to say something worth saying with it, as well as entertainment. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

If you're an artist, it's great to have a knowledge of the business and be educated about that, but you've got to keep the balance right between business and artistry; otherwise, you get cynical. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I try not to define myself. Other people are going to do that for you anyway. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Corsets were a challenge in 'Belle;' fake nails tripped me up in 'Blackbird.' Guess I'm not a mani type of girl! — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

In my own life, when I'm not working, I do wear a lot of black. I think I do feel very comfortable in black. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

At home I wear my own clothes, no makeup and don't do anything exciting with my hair. I get to borrow pretty dresses for the red carpet and have experts do my hair and makeup. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Speaking as a mixed-race woman, there aren't many historical stories about people like me. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

As a biracial girl growing up in England, I'd never really seen any historical characters who looked like me depicted on film before that weren't being brutalized or playing slaves. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I just love performing so much, and I threw myself into every musical theater production that was going in my home town and at school. And then, I went to the National Youth Music Theatre, which was really a galvanizing experience for me when I was 17. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I try not to limit myself. The actors that inspire me are the comedians and the people able to shape-shift into different roles and into different media. That ensures your longevity as an artist and prevents you from getting bored with yourself and, hopefully, prevents people from getting bored with you. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

When you become a slave to a public persona and don't feel comfortable without it, it becomes a shield, and it shouldn't come at the expense of your self-worth. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I'm interested in playing lots of different complex women. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I didn't really grow up on hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald and the old school jazz divas are more my comfort zone. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I don't really have one dish. I'm a very improvisational cook. I sort of like to make things up as I go along. I'm quite creative in the kitchen. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I enjoy classics, but classics are classics for a reason. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

As an actress, I'm an emotional person. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

When I was nine, 'The Borrowers' was such a big series for me! — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Because of my job, my hair gets played with a lot on set, so I try to give it little bit of breathing space when I'm not working. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I was always the one leading the way in terms of wanting to do acting, singing and dancing. I was lucky that my mother had a very well-adjusted perspective of the world and never pressured me to do anything I didn't want to do. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Don't worry about society's conditioning and the labels that are put on you by external forces. Hold onto your true self. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I played Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz.' That was my first role on stage. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I think there are parts of myself in every character I play. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

In 2009, I was living in London and getting work I enjoyed. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

The actors that inspire me are the comedians and the people able to shape-shift into different roles and into different media. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Different fragrances promote different emotions, and I find that fragrance gets me in the frame of mind for that person. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

For me, it was all about working with an inspirational filmmaker. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I do a lot of yoga, and when I'm in L.A., I have an outdoorsy sort of lifestyle. It's sort of comfortable, West Coast, yoga chic. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I don't really want to just play the girlfriend or the love interest. I get so many scripts like that, and - not to moan, because I'm really fortunate - but I just look at those scripts, and my heart sinks a little bit because I think there's so much more to us than that. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

I like to choose things that fit my body for sure; you learn to find the things that complement your shape. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Everyone says to you, 'if you play Ophelia, you'll end up crazy,' but we're all somewhere on the spectrum of mental health, and I think that if you approach it that way it's not such an intimidating issue. — Gugu Mbatha-Raw