I don't have any conversations where I'm not talking about my dog.
— Y'lan Noel
I didn't want to come to L.A. without a plan. I was already dealing with my own indecision in Atlanta, so I didn't want to pick up and relocate and do the same thing in a different area.
Before I was acting, I was extremely athletic and for a lot of time in my life, I didn't know how to deal with the energy that I had to move and use my body in ways.
I hadn't seen 'The Purge' until I was trying to do the research for it. But it was my friends and my cousins, in particular, who came to me not too long before the audition process and asked me if I had seen it. They were talking about how great it was. I was engaged in the opportunity to do the film because of their intrigue with the franchise.
I'm really simple and I'm extremely ambitious.
Typically, I'm very happy-go-lucky.
What drives me is character driven material.
I want to do more roles that require a large level of preparation and that are completely different from who I am.
I feel like when the people in 'Insecure' are honest, the characters learn the most. This show has grown my cynicism a little a bit about relationships just because the way men and women responded to the fact that Issa was cheating on her boyfriend.
A lot of times, black people were extremely cool, and that's how we've been commodified in TV and film. But now we're starting to see an upswing of material where we're like, 'It's cool to be quirky and weird and smart.'
I don't think I'll ever get to a place where I'm super kumbaya coming into an audition room.
Sometimes I feel like my normal approach to roles has been, 'I want to be more complex, dynamic.'
When I was in Canada I shot a romantic comedy that I'm looking forward to having people see, it's called 'The Weekend.'
It would take some encouragement for me to accept other people's opinions on how I should present my work because my work means a lot to me.
Sometimes hiding behind masculinity with your homies can get in the way of having a real dialogue.
I'm originally from New York, and I just have a love affair with that place.
I just want to continue to do polar opposite type of work. I just want to continue to do things that are unexpected and dynamic, with good stories behind them.
I'm not interested in people being interested in me.
One thing I do dislike, are cowards.
What's cool about 'Insecure' is it's very realistic and nuanced.
I know a lot of people who thrive on self-tapes, but for me, it does come down to first impressions. I like to be in the room, I like to talk to the people I'm acting with.
I don't wanna be like somebody that just depicts black characters where drugs and guns are just a majority of what they have to do.
I just want to tell great stories.
What I enjoy the most about 'Insecure' is it holds up a mirror to real life. If you're paying attention and you're watching consciously, you are able to make better decisions about who you are, the people that are around you.
Part of being an actor is being susceptible to imaginary circumstances, so as soon as I'm on the set I feel like I'm actually there.
Winks just don't come off as smooth for me as they seem to for everyone else.
The movie that scared the hell out of me was 'The Blair Witch Project.' I can't remember another movie that scared me the way that one did.
I'm just a monk, I'm like a recluse.
I want to see more sci-fi with black people.
I get what it feels like to watch some of your peers pass you in a field that you're in.
