As a woman of colour who makes movies in a world that is the privilege of the white male, I represent 0.4% of my industry. I would love to get to a place where I don’t have to make that statement. It would be great to be remembered as someone who broke boundaries and made the way for others who look like me.
I have a phobia of spiders, water, heights, public speaking and flying. True to the cliché, I feel the fear and I (mostly) do it anyway. But the thought of being fully immersed in water brings me out in a cold sweat.
When my parents first came to the UK, there were signs on doors saying “No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs”. We all – parents, two elder siblings and I – shared a single room. I remember being a toddler and washing in a small plastic tub in the room, because my mother never wanted me to bathe in the shared bathroom.
Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming, made me cry. She has such a wonderful skill of being able to connect with human beings. The way she told the story of her father’s death was reminiscent of the time I lost my father.
Elements of social media depress me. There is a side to social media that is wonderful – I am able to connect with people in ways that would have been impossible. But being female and black… it can be a very toxic environment.
When I’m wearing red lips, I mean business. I started wearing makeup when I was 14, and my love affair grew. I am happier in the way I look today than when I was younger. Makeup is the armour I use to face the challenges of the day.
Naomi Campbell and I have known each other since we were 10. We went to the Barbara Speake stage school in west London together. By the age of 14, she had gone off to model and I was in a TV series. I didn’t get round to doing my A levels until I was 27.
My cooking is a salty feast of everything gone wrong. I just can’t get it right. I can however make toast and a mean egg fried rice.
I have a terrible temper, but I’ve learned to master it. Nowadays I rarely lose it. On the occasions I do, I’m very good at apologising. As a child actor, I never found directors constantly losing their temper particularly fruitful. I never wanted to become one of those.
There is a wisdom that you gain with age. In Africa, age is seen as an absolute privilege. I wish western society would begin to appreciate it in the same way.
Where Hands Touch is in cinemas now
