Nelsan Ellis

I was raised by women.

But no one told me that when you're in the military, they own you.

When you act with phenomenal actors, it makes your job much easier because all you have to do is react.

You go back to my town, it's like going back to the 1960s... just not a great place to grow up.

Being different gives the world color.

Being different makes you beautiful.

You have to be a tough gay person in the South.

When I wanted to become a serious actor, this girl told me, 'You should go to Juilliard.' And I said, 'Okay.'

I rejected being a lot of things that I grew up in, and yet I didn't. I got all my tactics from where I grew up... I can talk about all the people in those environments more than I can talk about the teachers at Juilliard or anyone else.

I had no intention of being an actor.

The beautiful thing about this country is that I can be a Christian and feel free to do so. Or somebody cannot be a Christian and do whatever that entails. Or somebody can be a Christian and still be gay, and I support it.

The sci-fi fans in America... they are die-hard. They will follow you to the ends of the Earth. Once they attach themselves to a show and believe in the show and love the characters, they're there forever, and they're unshakeable.