Starting out [as an actor], the primary objective is to get a job, to get a role, to get some sort of employment, to be heard. Then as you get the face and the name recognition, all the things you were fighting for, then a funny thing happens, you get more selective. More people know you, more people want you for different jobs. They want you not for your dreams but to have their dreams come through. If those two things do not meet then it is not a job that I am going to accept because I still have dreams and aspirations. I still want to meet challenges and be fulfilled. That means I will have to say ‘no’ to some jobs because I just don’t want to be paid, I want to be fulfilled. I want to give of myself. I want something that requires a little of my soul and my spirit, that is how I’ve always been. If I take a job, I don’t like to feel like I’m lying to the public. I want to work and I want to be drawn to projects and for more reasons than just the money. I’m not down to beans and water yet, so I’m cool. - Angela Bassett