Viola Davis Quotes

It's not about just diversity; it's about authenticity. Audiences are really excited to see more of themselves on the screen.

I feel at home in Shondaland. I feel a lot of things at Shondaland, but one of the things I feel that I haven't felt before is at home. I feel accepted for who I am and acknowledged for who I am. I feel like my ideas are embraced.

It's important for Asian American kids to see themselves in stories and to feel seen. They need to know that their stories are universal, too, that they, too, can fall in love in a teen movie. They don't have to be the sidekick; they can be the hero.

I am so passionate about representation because, growing up, I didn't see myself, and now people can say, 'I see myself there.' We're all trying to find where we are.

I hope that every film I make has something to offer in the area of making people feel either vindicated or different in terms of who they are.

I want young people to know that they can belong - whatever your culture, your religion, your sexuality - that you can live life how you want to live it and feel comfortable how you are.

I love the mixture that's in me. It makes me me. And that's why it's such a shame that people waste energy in denying who they are.

I know one of the reasons I first started making Youtube videos was because no one looks like me.

Now I've devoted my life to making sure that I can be a trailblazer for any other African American kids or any other gay kids or any other kids that just feel weird or uncomfortable and have their own issues and don't know how to express themselves. I want to be like a beacon for those kids now.

I'm out here to represent the gingers, the gypsies, and the outcasts. Because I am all of the above, and I'm all about having a great time.

I've always felt a bit of an outsider. It used to worry me that, in terms of TV, I did not look like 'the girlfriend' or 'the daughter'. That pushed me to write my own stuff, as I thought no one else was going to write me a lead in the sitcom.

I think that anybody coming out and saying, 'This is who I am, and let me show it to you...' is good for the world.

I just want different narratives for people of color, especially women of color. I just want something that's different. I don't want us to be put in a box. I want it to be kind of a redefinition of who were are. If I can even achieve that in a tiny way, I'll be good. I'll be good.

I want to be in everything, but that's because I haven't seen someone who looks like me in everything. I want to play a superhero. I want to be the love interest. I want to write my own stuff and create my own projects. I want to be in French films.

I want women and girls of African descent and of color to be able to not have to keep searching for stories about themselves.

I'm such a firm believer that everyone should see themselves in a character, and everyone should feel represented.

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.

Of course I want the things I write to reflect well on me or anyone who might feel represented by me, but also, I'm not writing a guidebook on how to be or how my people should be seen. I'm telling very specific stories.

There's something to be said about seeing your face represented. There's just something really important about that. It just draws you in more.

I can't imagine how hard it must be to invest in a community... when you don't feel heard and when you don't feel seen.

I would love for 'Hedwig' to be in every tiny shopping mall so every freakish kid like I was can have a broadening experience.

We have to support everyone so their stories don't get 'invisibilized.' We don't necessarily have to repopulate the next Marvel movie with people of color, but it's just about saying 'We have hearts, we have souls, we have minds, we have faults, we have flaws, and we're super-freaking interesting.'

I think kids in every minority need to see people like themselves in books; that's an acknowledgment of their existence on this planet and in this society.

It's really empowering when you see yourself represented in entertainment and, especially, onstage when you're talking about how this country came to be.

I feel like I'm opening the doors for more people. That they feel more comfortable being out. Especially in the hip-hop community.