I clip hand sanitizer to my purse. I used to be a babysitter back in the day, so I got germaphobic.
I typically try not to think too hard about what I'm going to do in a certain scene with a certain actor in a certain moment because I think that kind of lends its way to not being as improvisational and sort of carefree as one would hope.
Whether we are working to pay off student loans, credit card debt, paying for elder or childcare, or even trying to save for retirement, the idea of the American dream still remains just that - a dream.
I think cooking should be an experience, not a chore.
I used to get these as a kid all the time - Doritos, Cheetos, Funions... and Andy Capp's Hot Fries. I have a crunch fetish.
I connected to this idea of faith and spirituality and religion and Christianity being a very strong crux of who I am at the core and how a lot of what we think and believe is based around our spiritual beliefs.
I am obsessed with Green Tidings deodorant - it's this natural deodorant.
In 2006, I made the decision to go after my dream. I was living in Atlanta and had a promising career in marketing, but I took a leap of faith and decided to move to New York, enroll in graduate school, and pursue acting.
Not being able to afford many of the basic necessities to survive, I placed all my loans in forbearance, enrolled in food stamps and Medicaid, and took on part-time jobs anywhere I could find them.
If I could eat French fries every day of my life, I would.
I think, overall, there is a lack of diversity in the arts. I'm thinking about when I was in grad school: I could probably count on one hand the number of minority students in the graduate school program.
I studied psychology, history, and religion. I was a heady girl, but frankly, I'm glad I studied those subjects because a lot of that has really helped me as an actress.
At 'OITNB,' we really work to keep to the formula that's made this show so popular with everyone who watches it, which is to have really good characters and really interesting stories.
At some point, we have to move away from the pack to take certain journeys on our own.
I did study religion at Northwestern, and it was a very interesting time for me because I think it was the beginning of my personal journey in this understanding of the purpose that religion serves in our culture and in our individual lives. It serves to ground us and be our moral compass.
I got a pouch at Chelsea Market in NYC that says, 'Art Is More Important Than Math.' It has pencils and a highlighter. I always have to sign something or highlight a script.
I learned that, with grief, you have to take it one day at a time and learn how to find the happiness amid the heartbreak.
We think of our prison inmates as the dregs of society, and we scorn them and push them off to the side and forget about them. We have to remember that they are humans, and they have rights, and yes, they did wrong, but we all have one shot at doing wrong, you know?
