Li Na Quotes

Not only do I not want to be stereotyped as this Asian girl who fights - gee, what a wonder - but also I have more to offer than that.

I'm not a conventional leading man at all and have no wish to be.

I never want to be called the funniest Indian female comedian that exists. I feel like I can go head-to-head with the best white, male comedy writers that are out there. Why would I want to self-categorize myself into a smaller group than I'm able to compete in?

I think knowing where you can generally fit is important, but the fun thing about being an actor is sometimes stretching beyond that stereotype and stretching beyond the box that people put you in.

I feel like my whole life, I've had to prove myself to so many people because I'm young and because I'm a female; it's just constant. I'm always surprising people.

I'm trying to break the stereotypical role now of the Theo-type character because, in my post-'Cosby' life, as I call it, I don't want to be known as just the kind of guy who can play a Theo Huxtable-type character. I want to be known as being able to do more things, being able to stretch.

My first reaction to being pigeonholed or pushed into certain confines is to be like, 'No, I'm the opposite,' you know? Like, don't put me in a stereotypical black-girl category, because I'm not like that; I'm doing this thing over here.

There are definitely advantages to not looking like a Viking in real life.

I don't want to be defined as the Asian leading man. I want to be the leading man. Henry Golding.

One of the cool things about 'Patti Cake$' is that it is about someone that is against stereotype.

Being a foreigner bad guy doesn't have to be my destiny, and I can be much more than that.

As a reggaeton act, I've always felt people are looking down on us and expecting us to fail. That's enough of a burden, and we automatically try to act with dignity.

I always knew that whenever you go out there, you're not just representing yourself. You're representing a heritage that's behind you, your culture, so you always have to do things, like, bigger, badder, better.

Every human being has an assortment of diverse identities, and it greatly matters which one is triggered by social situations, which hold up different kinds of mirrors. The same is true for nations.

I actually spoke to one of the heads of a studio, and he said I confuse middle America. Basically, when they see a black person, they see athlete, they see rapper, or they see criminal or something like that. And then when they hear a British accent, they hear posh, so they hear lawyer or doctor.

My hairstyle is not common in India, where my parents come from.

After 'Gangs,' people thought that I couldn't speak a sentence in English or that I don't wear jeans or, you know, I am a city girl.

I don't want to see myself as this sad, disabled girl. I know that. I don't want other people to see me as that, either.

I always knew what I had, and I knew I was more than just 'the foreign guy.' I have personality, and as soon as I had chance to show it, I just did it. A lot of people don't like it, and a lot of people frown upon it and think I should just be stuck in that box, but it's just not me.

I was determined not to be typecast.

I do find it slightly offensive that everyone thinks that every New Zealander starred in either 'Lord of the Rings' or 'The Hobbit.'

I feel like I'm put in a position where I have to engage with what people bring to my work, which is an expectation for me to talk about race because it's not normal for a black writer to be writing in the theatre.

I'd much rather people knew me as a good tennis player than as an aboriginal who happens to play good tennis. Of course I'm proud of my race, but I don't want to be thinking about it all the time.

I want to do different things. I don't want to be stuck in the 'sweet girl' box. I don't want to be stuck in the 'Oh, she is so glamorous' box.

I don't want to be the next face of America.