I think everything in life happens for a reason. I always think there's room for me to improve as a person. Kerry Washington More Quotes by Kerry Washington More Quotes From Kerry Washington I've always been a writer because I've always been a student. My mom's a retired professor, so I come from a very academic background. I love writing, you know? Kerry Washington mom students writing I always prided myself on the fact that I could live out of milk crates forever. It was kind of my way of detaching from materialism. Kerry Washington milk forever way I come from the theater and I plan to always do theater. So I don't really see myself not being able to act even if people don't think I am sexy enough for film at 40, I'll still be acting. Kerry Washington sexy people thinking I grew up in New York, so I fell in love with acting on a stage, not in front of a camera. Kerry Washington cameras acting new-york You may not be thinking about politics, but politics is thinking about you. Kerry Washington thinking-about-you may thinking I think most people, when they think about the Black Panther Party, they think in very abstract, caricatured terms. They think about black fists in the air, but they don't think about the actual people, and the families, and the relationships. Kerry Washington party air thinking We don’t come out of the womb filled with prejudice, racism, and homophobia. Kids are taught to hate, so we have to protect our young people’s minds from those evils. Kerry Washington hate racism kids That's what acting is - it's about having the courage to allow your audience into the private moments of your characters' lives. Kerry Washington acting moments character I'm doing this play right now, the new David Mamet play. It's called 'Race,' and it's very interesting how people really leave the theater filled with the desire to talk about the play and the issues and the characters, and how they're all navigating their personal views around race. Kerry Washington views play character I really love research. It's one of the things I love most about my job. I feel like it's me in the lab cooking up the character. Kerry Washington cooking jobs character I'd never really heard of financial abuse, although it makes so much sense when you hear it defined. Kerry Washington abuse financial heard Sometimes it's hard for me to tell the difference between independent filmmaking and studio filmmaking because all the studios have these little independent satellites. It's interesting. Kerry Washington independent differences interesting I feel like I barely survived Django (Unchained) emotionally - the violence, hearing the N-word every day. It cost me a lot psychologically, but it was worth it to tell that story. Kerry Washington django cost stories Making the unbelievable believable is different on a set with 'Fantastic Four,' where it's like, 'Wind machines! Because the airship is coming in and you're pretending to be afraid!' Kerry Washington machines different wind Black community, I think as a whole America is dealing with the issue of homophobia. We got to be really honest about whether we believe in civil rights for all people or not. As Black people we need to remember the moment that we say it's okay to disenfranchise one segment of society, we're opening the door to move backward on ourselves. Kerry Washington believe moving thinking I am co-writing a screenplay now and I'm working on the rights to another story I want to do. So I plan to produce and direct. So, for me, I don't really feel that I am vulnerable to that sad baggage that comes with the business of filmmaking. Kerry Washington movie rights writing I wouldn't just come home from school and watch TV everyday, they had me involved in lots of local theatre. I was a very dramatic, talkative child. And that was part of my mother's creative solution - to put me in workshops and classes and children's theatre programmes. Kerry Washington mother home children People don't think about the fact that when Barack Obama's parents had him it was illegal for them to be married in several states in this country. So if we start making it okay that certain people can marry and other people can't, it's a slippery slope of civil rights. Kerry Washington gay country thinking I'd figure out ways to use role-playing in the healing of people. Kerry Washington role-playing healing people As a young girl, my real dream was to be the woman in the shows at SeaWorld. Kerry Washington girl real dream