Gina Rodriguez

Every morning, my dad would have me looking in the mirror and repeat, 'Today is going to be a great day; I can, and I will.'

I grew up dancing salsa - you know, a traditional Puerto Rican dance.

I can live in L.A. as a struggling artist. I cannot live in New York as a struggling artist.

I dream big, baby. I want to do thrillers, I want to do smart David Lynch-type mysteries.

Latinos don't go out and support their own films, but at the same time, it's not their responsibility.

I don't want the Latino community to think I think the reason Latino films are not doing well is because of us. It is not fully our responsibility.

This industry is all about work, and just because Sundance exposed me to the world, it is my job to stay deserving in that world. The work never ends; the hustle just get harder, and you get stronger!

I've learned a lot about what kind of actor I want or do not want to be while being on set. I sit back and observe how other actors treat the totem pole of set politics.

I started performing very young as a salsa dancer, and every time I was on that stage dancing, all I knew was that I wanted to speak. I wanted the music to stop, and I wanted to speak.

I started salsa dancing with a few different companies and started touring the country. It was fantastic, but I realized that I really wanted to talk every time we were performing. That's a problem because when you're dancing, if you stop to talk, that's not really cool to the other dancers.

I love relatable stories.

With each dream accomplished, bigger ones are put in their place.

I like to peel it and share it with friends. You can spread the love with an orange.

I love telling stories that allow people to be less afraid to tell theirs.

What makes characters real are details, and if you're crafting a person from scratch, you're probably not going to pay as much attention to a question like, 'Does this person bite their nails?'

I do not devalue the role of a maid or nanny, or the stereotypical roles that some members of our family have actually done to feed our families in real life.

I grew up in Chicago, so hip-hop has always been a part of my life.

I went to college at NYU for acting, since acting was my dream from very young. I did a lot of hip-hop courses while I was there. I helped co-write a hip-hop production for the main stage of NYU, but I never touched rap.

Being an actress wasn't realistic. I knew that I was going to have to do it in a way that would speak to my parents. So I went to NYU Tisch School of the Arts for theater, and I studied at the conservatory.

I felt very vulnerable after 'Sleeping with the Fishes'; I gained weight for the role. I felt a bit out of my skin in the movie, and it was hard to watch.