Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

A man should be well groomed. If you're going to have facial hair, it should be a choice, not an accident.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

I thought I was going to be on Broadway. I thought, 'I'm going to do theater.'

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

When you do a play, you have all this time to rehearse and grow into the character. In television, even though you're waiting and waiting and waiting, once you're actually on set engaging in the scene with another actor, time is of the essence.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

Sometimes as human beings, we're so contradictory - we may say something or do something and completely contradict ourselves. That's what I'm learning to embrace in television - not knowing what's going to happen.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

As artists, we thrive when we can express our comfort and our discomfort. If a certain scene is really challenging for us, if we're in an environment where we feel safe, we're able to do our work.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

I want to write. I want to direct. I want to produce - I want to inhabit what I think it means to fully be an artist.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

The problem of sexism is getting better, but I don't know if it's getting better fast enough. We see more roles for women that don't entirely revolve around the way in which they function in a man's life, but typically those women are almost always white, and even then, there are only a few of them.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

Studying acting has been personally enriching because it has taught me to take the time to imagine what someone else's life experience might be like. To look deeply at how our pasts and the circumstances of our early childhoods mold us as people.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

Sometimes people just need to feel heard, and being an actor has taught me to really listen.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

The advice that I was always given when asking for advice about acting was that if I could imagine myself doing anything else, anything else at all, then go do that.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

Create something for yourself that you feel proud of, that you are in control of, that gives you a better understanding of the type of artist you want to be.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

My hair routine is to let someone else do it.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

I've been trying to eat healthier, but sometimes it doesn't work out when you're sitting in front of the TV drinking wine, and you realize you really need ice cream to go along with it.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

It gets a little crazy at Disneyland. It's a little bit more hardcore then people think.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

It was a given at UCSB that if there was a role that called for a person of color, it was going to be handed to me. There were certain times when maybe I didn't try as hard. Going to Yale was a way more diverse experience.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

Love is a complicated emotion because you can learn something or hear something that goes against what you have come to know personally. It can be very challenging to what you believe.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

I love Haagen Daaz Caramel Cone, or the Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake. Pairs well with anything.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

When I was younger, it was harder for me to find a black eyeliner that would actually show up on my skin. Being a dark-skinned woman, when you find something that actually shows up on your face, you love it even more.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

I'm obsessed with eyeliner - the darker and kohl-ier, the better.

Aja Naomi King
Aja Naomi King

I use Pureology Shampoo and Conditioner, and after shampooing, I'll put the conditioner on, go watch a movie, and wash it out later. When you have black girl hair, once we wash, we've gotta do the whole press and get in the edges and everything. That's a lot of heat to go back to straight on a daily basis.