I think a caricature is different than a character.
One of the biggest things I learned was not to tell myself 'no' before someone else. As someone who's creative, I know the inner critic can be really loud. Early on in my career, I would just listen to it and tell myself 'no.'
Improv is such a huge part of my background, and a huge part of character discovery is really being inside the character and trying to think through them without the limitations of the script.
HBO has been incredible and a huge champion of my work, my passions, and has been a great home for my talent, I feel.
I have always gravitated toward levity and my parents; I'm sure they have a VHS tape of me when I'm making jokes and trying to make faces when the family was taking a picture.
What I loved about playing Ms. Albright in 'Love, Simon' is that, so often, when we speak of allies in the queer community, we don't really get to see what it means be an active ally. I love that she can step into this world with these kids and be a truth teller.
Luckily, with 'Insecure,' we have really great writers who get it and work hard to give Kelli layers for me to explore as an artist.
As a writer, I use improv to write. Exploring characters and stories through improv and sitting at the computer and thinking about what this character would say or do helps me creatively.
I've always been kind of precocious, but my journey sort of solidified when I was in college and majored in theater. That's how I knew I wanted to spend my life writing, telling, and performing stories.
I'm a military brat, so I moved around a ton. When you're making friends and you're funny, it makes that easier.
My feet are firmly planted in my political ideology. To me, it's being authentic in every area, and that includes politics.
I'm a body positive, fat-loving feminist. That's who I am off-screen.
'Love, Simon' is incredibly dope, but that's one specific experience, and I would love to see more versions of that story being told or other stories that we haven't even seen yet from the LGBTQIA community.
Teaching theater, I felt very lucky. In a world where there's few options for someone who graduates with a theater degree, trying to figure out how to make rent and pay the bills, I always gravitated towards teaching jobs and things like that. I wanted to stay close to my passion as well.
I think once I began to trust myself as a writer, I began to be seen as a writer.
My social media is riddled with me speaking out on stuff that matters because silence is a petri dish for hate. For me, it's important to speak out.
In a world where you graduate with a theater degree from college, you gotta find your bread job. You gotta find that job to pay the bills.
The thing about improv that I really love in scripted television is that it really makes a moment authentic.
I have chosen to never take myself out of the running for roles. I will continue to throw myself into projects that I am passionate about and will continue to create opportunities for myself.
When someone on screen portrays a character that behaves in a way you don't expect, you're subverting ideas. So if there's a Venn diagram between why people are drawn to the characters I play, it may be that. But I'd like to think that the craft of acting and the choices I make as an actor are drawing people on their own merits.
