Sanaa Lathan

I did work out every day. I needed it to have the endurance to do what needed to be done and not get hurt. I have such a new respect for action stars now.

I look forward to going to work. Everybody is at the top of their game. It was like we just got to play.

I was working straight for nine months and I’m exhausted. I’m ready to relax for a little while and read. I don’t want to work for work sake; I have to be excited about it.

When you’re on a set it can be very tedious and slow. It’s just not as big as when you see it on film.

I wouldn’t want anyone to destroy the earth.

The Alien is gross, scary. There is something in a human being that looks at them and sees it as a cockroach. You can never feel nurturing towards the cockroach.

In 1979, Alien came out and Sigourney was in it with a bunch a guys. Nobody at that time expected the woman to be the hero, so that was a tradition that started.

You would never expect a black woman to be the hero.

Some of us just have to work harder to stay in the game.

If you’re in love and there’s that chemistry, that’s what it’s all about.

I didn’t get to see Predator until halfway through shooting. It was great to get an education while I was shooting because it made me excited to be part of this legacy.

I liked the fact that there were so many different representations of black women and black men in the movie. It wasn’t like we all had the same agenda.

CGI is done after the film is done. It’s through the computer. Most of the film is not computer-generated special effects. Most of it is that creature that is in the room with you.

Being strong can be also feminine. I don’t think feminine equals being weak. Being strong is very sexy.

I got nominated for a Tony, which was a complete surprise. It was an experience that I will always cherish.

To make a movie is very grueling at times. Long, long hours and cold weather.

People make jokes about how black people are the first ones to be killed off.

I’ll eventually go back to theater because the feeling of being on stage where you have the audience right there, you can’t replace that with anything.

When you have a play, you have to be on every night.

I had never picked up a basketball before. I went through a grueling audition process. It was almost as if I was learning to walk. It would be like teaching somebody to dance ballet for a role.

Sometimes when you don’t care, people are attracted to that.

As different as me and Sigourney look is as different as these two characters are. I’m not filling her shoes. I’m doing a part that has the same monsters, but it’s a completely different movie.