Sophie Okonedo

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Sophie Okonedo CBE (born 11 August 1968) is an English actress and narrator. Okonedo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019, both for services to drama. The recipient of a Tony Award, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, three BAFTA TV Award, Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

Quotes

 * “I’m not particularly intellectual, the way I approach things. I’m a completely physically actor; I think physically and I let my body lead me to the emotions.”
 * “I use all sorts of sources — but I always go back to the script. And then I just let the thing live in my body a bit. So when I’m on set I’m not thinking in any linear way about what I’m doing: I just do it.”
 * I don't like going for more than a year without doing theatre. I don't mind falling flat on my face so long as I feel I'm open to the possibility of something extraordinary happening.
 * But I'm pretty secure about who I am. Anything that's truthful I'm not ashamed of.
 * When I do things that aren't very good, I'm worse as an actor. I don't know what I pick up - but it's something not very nice.
 * I'd hate to lose the character actress part of me, because, by God, the parts are much more interesting. As a black actress, all I was offered in British film was the best friend role, whereas in television, I was offered a whole spectrum of parts. I'd love to be able to follow that through into my newly-formed film career which I didn't expect to get at 36!
 * I'm drawn to stories about ordinary people who get tangled up in an extraordinary event or idea or emotion. I'm not saying I don't love films about super-people or super-doctors, but my preference is for stories about how we get through this life, what it is to be human, because I'm always struggling with it myself.
 * Without hammering you over the head with it, the movie gets you to ask questions. That's what good movies do.
 * I'm just going where the stories are. I'll quite happily work in a tiny theater in the middle of nowhere if it's the right story. It always leaves a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth when I do something purely for money. I always end up being absolute shit in it. I'm not really an actor who can make rubbish writing good. Some people are very good at it. It's a real skill.
 * [on being awarded the OBE in June 2010] The cherry on the cake and way beyond anything I would have imagined for myself.
 * Being a character actor, I can go on until I'm 70 or 80; I'm not bound to the way I look.
 * The repetition of the theatre means you've got the time to get deeply inside the person you're playing.