Ruth Negga

She was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian father and Irish mother. She was raised in Limerick, Ireland, from the age of four.

I like working with people who are kind, above all else. I don't really want to work with someone who will manipulate me. The idea that you must treat actors a certain way in order to get a performance out of them kind of disturbs me, and it's disregarding what we do. Our job is to do our job. I don't believe that directors need to essentially manipulate actors into doing things. You can suffer for your art, and you can make your own self suffer for your art. You don't need anyone else to do it for you. I work best when there's a safety trampoline of kindness. I think a film like El matrimonio Loving (2016) generates compassion and empathy. I really do think we need a lot of that in the world.