What I have wanted to do is take roles that are unexpected for people who look like me. Roles that the establishment would say, 'Oh, she couldn't possibly be that.'
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes challenging stereotypes and expectations based on appearance.
Ruth Negga expresses her desire to take on roles that defy conventional expectations tied to her identity. By seeking unexpected roles, she aims to challenge and disrupt the perceived limitations imposed by society, showcasing the importance of diversity in representation and the power of breaking molds.
In practice
In a keynote speech about breaking stereotypes in the film industry.
When I was a kid in Ireland, there were not very many black people. I was very much like the strange brown thing, intriguing and cute. I didn't experience racism there. The first time I did was in London. It was that moment that you realize you're black. A kind of lifting of the veil.
I don't know why women aren't allowed to have the same sort of breadth and scope and flaws of men.
When you connect to someone on a human level, and you get to know about them, you can begin to love the things that make them different. That's when fear dissipates, and that's when we can live the life that we're all supposed to be living.
I don't like the term 'colour-blind' - because I don't want people to be blind to my colour.
I don't favor violence. If we could bring about recognition and respect of our people by peaceful means, well and good. Everybody would like to reach his objectives peacefully. But I'm also a realist. The only people in this country who are asked to be nonviolent are black people.
In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed.
I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices today than any of you to secure peace.
Surely the best way to meet the enemy is head on in the field and not wait till they plunder our very homes.
Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed.
I can never acknowledge the right of slavery. I will bow down to no deity however worshipped by professing Christians - however dignified by the name of the Goddess of Liberty, whose footstool is the crushed necks of the groaning millions, and who rejoices in the resoundings of the tyrant's lash, and the cries of his tortured victims.
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