Troy Carter Quotes

When I grew up, I never saw anyone looking like me on TV, you know? I'm so glad to see a lot more of us on television, whether it's Mindy Kaling or it's Irrfan Khan or Freida Pinto. You know, I hope, like, little girls across the world can just look at me and say, 'Ah, I want to be that!' Indian or not, it shouldn't matter.

There is power in seeing a face that looks like yours do something, be someone. There is power in moving from the sidelines to the center.

Role models really matter. It's hard to imagine yourself as something you don't see.

It's hard to be what you can't see.

It's important for kids to see someone who looks like them carving his own path. I definitely acknowledge that, and I think it's super great.

I thought, 'Oh, this is great,' because maybe someone who does look like me will watch 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' and realize that they can be an actor if they want to be, or they can be a superhero. They can have a hero that looks like them as well.

A hero that doesn't look like you makes you want to be something else.

We always talk about how important representation is. It's so important to see someone that looks like you - whether you're African American, Asian, Indian or whatever your background is - doing incredible things. It's just motivation to go out there and do incredible things yourself.

As young people, you want to see people who in some way look like you to some degree, because it makes it a little easier for you to aspire to take on the qualities of those people.

I didn't have a hero playing in sports that looked like me.

When I get to meet my audience when I go speak at colleges or when I'm walking down the street, it's been really eye-opening how many people have been touched to see someone that looks like them on television.

You can't be what you can't see.

I don't care to be famous. But at the same time, you look at all the role models these little girls have, and they don't have anyone to look up to. I mean, it's weird, but if I just hid out and didn't let myself be known, who would they look up to instead, you know?

I grew up never seeing myself on-screen, and it's really important to me to give people who look like me a chance to see themselves. I want to see myself as the hero of any story. I want to see myself save the world from the bomb.

Obama was the best thing for black nerds everywhere. Finally we had a role model. Before Obama, we basically had Urkel.

The person I am every single day is the person that's growing and getting better. The more people look up to me, the more important it is to be concise with what message I want to leave. That's where I feel like I'm a role model. Maybe not to everyone, but for a lot of minorities, I am, and I kinda love that - the role model for the underdog.

The motto of my institute has always been, 'If they can see it, they can be it.' And it's literally true. If we show something on-screen, it will change what happens in real life.

I just didn't see anyone on TV who looked like me, and then I saw George Takei being cool and piloting the spaceship on television.

When I was younger, I didn't have that type of person that I could look up to and be like, 'OK, this is someone who dresses like me and I relate to.' I didn't have that growing up, so to give that opportunity to a younger generation of women - and not just Somali women, but anyone who feels different - that means a lot to me.

I never saw a little African-American girl saving the world. So to be able to be that for not only myself but girls who look like me is really important and inspiring. Unfortunately, we don't see ourselves saving the world a lot, and if we do see any type of superhero, that person usually has superpowers.

I loved her music and the fact that she was a classically trained pianist and that her voice was so unique, but what made Nina Simone my hero is that I had never seen anyone in the public eye who looked anything like me at all, ever.

Maybe some young girl seeing me on the Emmy stage may have meant something for them.

I hope that there's a little black boy somewhere in Montana that never thought that he would see a reflection of himself, and he turns on the television, like, 'Oh my God, thank you.'

For any kid who feels like a newcomer, who feels like they don't belong, my candidacy says, 'Not only do you belong, you can also aspire to run this country.'

The more people feel comfortable to showcase that and the more we highlight that as a visibility for young girls to see and look up to - I think that's better.