It's one thing to live my own life and know that I'm O.K. But there's another thing I want to take on, and that is letting people know that they're O.K., too. Samira Wiley More Quotes by Samira Wiley More Quotes From Samira Wiley Along with some things I've seen in my own life, it showed me that depression needs to be treated in the same way that other medical conditions are. We don't necessarily think about it in the same light, but it should be taken seriously and people should get help. And we should talk about it and not be ashamed about it. Samira Wiley taken people thinking Because of the men in charge of this system, they've created this caste system for women that gives some of the women in higher places a false sense of authority. You have women who are able to just look at other women and from the color of the clothes they are wearing and they can know how they're supposed to interact with each other. It's a really horrible thing but genius in a way to pit them against each other because once you are, there is no community anymore. There is just people trying to keep each other down. Samira Wiley giving men people I'm definitely not the kind of person who wants to push anything down anyone's throat, so I don't really mind what the outcome of the conversation is but just that people are talking about it is very important to me. Samira Wiley important mind people I think it's scarily relevant right now, i think one of the things we can see -- especially through the flashbacks [in the show] -- is how it doesn't happen all at once. And that's the thing that's so scary. Samira Wiley top-news 'Orange Is the New Black' was my home show. I knew the set; I knew everyone there. Samira Wiley everyone new black home We can climb mountains with self-love. Samira Wiley self-love climb mountains There was this girl who went to my school, and she did a Nikki Giovanni poem, 'Ego Tripping,' and it was just different from everyone else's. It wasn't flat recitation. It had an energy and a life to it. And it made me sit up in my seat, and my eyes got wide, and I really felt inside myself, 'She's making me feel things. I want to do that.' Samira Wiley eyes myself me life I was a good bartender. I wouldn't say I was the best bartender in New York, but I could hold my own. Samira Wiley new best good my-own Before Juilliard, I was a schoolteacher for a little bit. I taught in a charter school. I was a substitute teacher for kids ages 3 to 6. Samira Wiley little taught teacher school The way it works at Julliard is that you just perform with people who are in your own class. Samira Wiley your you people way I come from a theater background, and if you're doing a play, your audience is right there, and you're able to have that one-on-one experience. Doing more TV now, when fans come up to me on the street and talk to me on social media, that's a way to bridge that gap. Samira Wiley me you social-media experience I never want to pigeonhole myself or get typecast. I'm looking forward to my career and showing all of my range as an actress, and I'm looking at other mediums, too. I'm a theater actress first. And I cannot wait to return to the stage. Samira Wiley wait looking myself looking-forward I'm a big lover of Shakespeare. In fact, the only plays that I've ever done professionally in New York have been Shakespearian. Samira Wiley new big done new-york When you're in prison, the progress of the outside world doesn't necessarily translate inside prison walls. You don't have any rights; it just doesn't progress along the same timeline. Samira Wiley you progress prison world I really wanted to work with Kate Mulgurew and Natasha Lyonne. Samira Wiley really kate work wanted I love horror movies. Samira Wiley horror-movies movies horror love I've seen my parents dragged through the mud. But I wouldn't be the person I am today without them. Samira Wiley person i-am parents today I have a responsibility as a potential role model that I take very seriously. Samira Wiley seriously role-model responsibility My mom is super fabulous, and I remember her telling me at 13, 'You can start wearing makeup now.' And the funny thing is, I didn't take her up on it! Samira Wiley me you makeup funny To be honest, whenever I go to shoots, or I'm on set, it really makes makeup special and allows me to have so much more fun with it - I don't wear it on an everyday basis, because I like my skin to breathe. Samira Wiley skin me makeup fun