Lupita Nyong'o Quotes

I started studying at 26. Before that, I never thought of acting as something that I would ever try.

I told everyone that acting's for losers and I needed to get an education. But something kept telling me to give it one last chance. In the end, I lasted a month on the M.B.A. and then decided to quit, come back to L.A., and try again.

The hardest part when I decided to move into acting was trusting I'd made the right decision.

Even though momentarily I thought about being a doctor, I was always involved in theatre and did a drama degree. I just didn't have the guts to go, 'Yes, I'm going to be an actor,' until I was probably 21.

I never really thought about being an actress or being anything like that. I was always a bit scared as well because of the thing about models becoming an actress and all that.

We're not an acting family, but my parents have always encouraged me.

When I graduated college, I decided that I was going to try to be an actor, but it was my dirty secret.

I was anxious before I decided to go back to acting about what I wanted to do with my life. Once I realized I was sort of interested in acting, I've been pretty lucky and had all these great parts. And I feel pretty much like, 'What will happen will happen.'

I always knew I wanted to act, but I never knew when and what would be the right time.

I've known since I was about six that I wanted to be an actor, but I grew up in a very small country town, and it was just not something that was possible.

I was too shy to be in films. But, my father thought it would work for me. It took a lot of time for me to think about getting into films.

A lot of parents tell their children that if they want to be an actor, that's fine, but they should do something else first, so they've got something to fall back on. It doesn't work like that, as far as I'm concerned.

No one got anywhere by being too scared to open their mouth in case nobody laughed.

Modelling was never in my plan. Never.

Where I came from, the idea of going into show business was just ridiculous; in fact I didn't tell anybody because I knew people would laugh at me. So I sort of snuck around and got some pictures and got a resume together and, of course, lied and said I did all kinds of things I didn't do.

Everyone has a different path. I knew no one in the acting industry growing up. I never did a play until college. I was not outspoken when I was younger and I hated being the center of attention. But I had a dream of being an actor. I went to NYU and studied theatre. I learned a craft. And began my career straight out of college.

I've definitely learned that if you really want something, just go for it, no matter how much it scares you.

I would hate to be 65 and think, 'What if I had tried to be an actor?'

I think I knew acting was what I wanted to do. But I was from this small town and there was no place for an adult to recognise it.

I was a swimsuit model, and I got bored. Acting was challenging. It was very hard and intimidating. We choose to do things in life sometimes that scare the crap outta us. Performing in front of people was my challenge.

I always wanted to be a doctor and go to art school, but I thought I'd regret it if I didn't act.

From Italy, I'd get calls from cousins and aunts saying, 'I don't think you should act. It's really tough. What are the chances?' This was around the time 'Flashdance' came out, and I was like, 'What about your dreams? I'm a maniac.'

I didn't pursue acting as a career until I got my first job. I didn't think I could make a living at it. You hear such horror stories about how hard it is to get work as an actor. It is hard, but I decided to roll with it.

All through high school and college, my parents would ask me over and over again, 'What are you going to do with your life? What do you want to be?' Well, in my heart I wanted to be a singer like Bing, but I worried about the reality of that dream. Did I think for one minute that I had the voice to pull it off? Of course not.

I made my first film when I was 35, so I firmly believe that you don't have to be one thing in life. If you're doing something, and you have a desire to do something different, give it a try.