Quotes by Phylicia Rashad

“The stubbornness I had as a child has been transmitted into perseverance. I can let go but I dont give up. I dont beat myself up about negative things.”

“What he showed me was not what I had to get, but what I already have. I am just myself, and who I am is a lot.”

“He conveys the poetry, the natural rhythms, of his characters speech. Everything - emotion, movement, thought, intention - is inherent in that rhythm. Actors sometimes like to dissect, to analyze, to do all those things actors are taught to do. But those things dont put me closer to this works heart. I have to surrender all that. Its like going to a lake or a swimming pool. You just have to dive in, to immerse yourself. Working in his plays requires a different kind of skill. Its as if you would become a talking drum.”

“I dont choose to take a role to prove to someone what I can do. Its an August Wilson play. I met with the playwright, I read for the playwright. In my career, thats like meeting Bill Cosby — meeting him is enough for me.”

“Well, shes very different from me; beating up ones children is something we definitely do not have in common. The funny thing is, my mother always says that Im playing her. Lets see what she says after seeing this!”

Theres always something to suggest that youll never be who you wanted to be. Your choice is to take it or keep on moving.

Any time women come together with a collective intention, its a powerful thing. Whether its sitting down making a quilt, in a kitchen preparing a meal, in a club reading the same book, or around the table playing cards, or planning a birthday party, when women come together with a collective intention, magic happens.

I am having a good time doing nothing.

Whats in front of you is a whole world of experiences beyond your imagination. Put yourself, and your growth and development, first.

Loving oneself isnt hard, when you understand who and what yourself is. It has nothing to do with the shape of your face, the size of your eyes, the length of your hair or the quality of your clothes. Its so beyond all of those things and its what gives life to everything about you. Your own self is such a treasure.

Success for me means being able to work. I dont look at so much at what Ive done as much as I look to what I will do.