To acknowledge the beginnings of people is a beautiful thing.
— Noma Dumezweni
I did fringe theatre for so many years, and then I got my first play at the RSC, which was an amazing feeling, but I was 30 and had started acting in my early twenties.
In your 20s and 30s, everything is possible. But then, sooner than you think, men walk past you in the street and don't look twice at you unless you're wearing a fabulous outfit.
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.
Stop worrying what other people think.
I've always been curious about the other worlds we can shift into in our imaginations.
There are so many directors, young and old, around - all doing their thing and struggling.
I'm a great company actor, a great supporting actor. I serve the piece.
The world shows us what we need at a specific moment in time.
Family - it's all about family. Families feeling safe and finding your safe place.
I tried twice to get into drama school and didn't, so I worked my way up through the fringe.
For me, you could say my big West End debut was 'Cursed Child,' but I'm in my 40s, and it's like, 'When is that beginning?'
It's hard; this business of acting is hard.
If I think even a week ahead, I get terrified. My big thing is trying to enjoy the moment as much as I can.
However popular you are, you still feel like an outsider.
I remember, being young is a scary, wonderful feeling.
I'm working with theatre-makers who are the top of their game, and it's extraordinary.
I don't do the victim mode. I don't do blame. I can't bear that.
I am a black woman who has been given this character called Hermione to play on the stage. But actually, we've all grown up with the books, with Emma Watson playing her in the films. Imagery is so strong.
At the very beginning, being a parent did impact how I go about this business.
I arrived in this country as a refugee child with my sister and my mother.
I wasn't very academic at school, but the Wolsey Youth Theatre was the saving of me.
I have been that actor who's watched peers and thought, 'God, they're doing well. I'll never get there.'
My mum's a single mum, I'm a single mum, and you do find yourself rushing around just to make sure everything's all right.
Whoever we are, we have to carve something out of our lives. I would like to be on my deathbed going, 'I've enjoyed that. I went through the rollercoaster of it, but I've appreciated it.'
The weight of expectation is huge. But for me, that pressure has been outweighed by getting text messages from mums I know saying how huge it is for their mixed-race daughters that I am playing Hermione.
I am so lucky I get to work with amazing, amazing people.
We're storytellers - and if the story is told well, you go with the form.
I now realise I'm a great actor.
I am very blessed to have this experience of being a parent, but do not negate me from this industry because I am a parent.
The only question we should ask is, 'Are they good?' I've met great actors, black and white, and I've met bad actors, black and white.
I moved to London, and it's a cliche to say that London is a melting pot, but it's true - I didn't stand out anymore.
