Believe in yourself. Push to your highest limit.
Marsai Martin
My goal is to show young women and girls that our voices and ideas matter, and you are never too young to dream big!
You don't have to change who you are for anyone: if you are your regular, authentic, confident self, then you can push to do whatever you want.
That's something that I have to work on: Self-confidence and loving myself.
Outdoors, I have a pool, so I usually swim and stuff. It's usually superhot in California, so we swim.
You're gonna get a lot of nos more than yeses, but you have to find the right people who trust in you and believe in you and will continue to work with you because you've got potential.
I just want to keep on creating stuff that people can relate to and inspire anyone who feels like their voice isn't heard; being relatable and being as authentic as possible is the whole goal of my production company.
My parents took a chance and sacrificed their jobs and a big move to California. And they were like, 'Are you sure you want to do this? We're literally packing up this whole house.' And I would always say, 'Yeah.' I'm six years old. And they were like, 'OK, if she wants to do this and this is her passion, then let's do it.'
I'm all about showing up for my friends, especially when they need me the most.
I see myself directing, writing, doing my own TV shows and movies.
No one ever said that I couldn't create my own projects, but no one actually told me that I could be an executive producer, either.
I would watch movies and listen to music that you wouldn't think a child would listen to.
I would say I was, I guess, a toddler when I actually found my passion because, when I was little, I used to mimic all these movies and sing all this music that you wouldn't think a toddler would know. I would think my passion just started there, and it just grew with me.
Sometimes I go Go Karting. Just regular old kid stuff.
One of my mom's favorite movies growing up was 'Big' with Tom Hanks. I thought, 'Oh, OK, what if we do something like that but not like that. Something more modern, with a different perspective, and maybe with an all-black cast.'
I don't want to be known as just an actress. I want to be known as an entertainer and entrepreneur.
I want to be a legend.
If it is something that you are interested in, and it is your passion, then tell your friends, because help is the best thing. If you stay confident, it will happen.
Even in reality shows, how they look at black women like they're the monsters - snatching wigs, and weaves and wigs, weaves and wigs, basically, and throwing water and stuff. That's how people see us often, as we are the enemies of things. I wanted to change that because that's not a good example.
My parents would watch movies like 'Big' and 'Freaky Friday,' and I wanted to see that kind of story told from an African-American angle. So I had the idea for 'Little,' and then I told my parents, and we all fleshed it out together.
I wanted other people to see what's in my mind as a young 14-year-old girl because sometimes, when men - or just older people - try to make films from what they think is a kid's perspective, it doesn't come out the right. It's like, 'Ehhh, that's probably not what we would do!'
It's very rare to have an amazing cast who supports you and loves you for anything you do in the future.
A lot of people will say different stuff like, 'You can't do it.' They'll say no before I even say anything. You just have to believe in yourself, and there's a reason they might say no, because they probably haven't seen it before.
I feel like fame can get into people's head, and you always hear that child actors are doing this, or parents are making their kids do that. I feel like, since we're kids, we have an imagination where we can do whatever we want at any time and if that it is their passion, they will tell you.
Your girl gets a lot of anxiety. It's OK. It's a learning process.
My parents always told me I could do anything, so I never had limits on what I could or couldn't do.
I think now I get to create and inspire more young black girls to continue doing what they love and reach for the stars.
At a very young age, when I was a baby, I used to mimic all of these movies, like 'Dreamgirls' and 'Ray,' the type of movies you wouldn't think a little kid would know. But my parents thought I was great.
It doesn't matter if you're 4 or 84; there's no age limit to what you can do.
My parents and I always look at movies and just think, 'What's missing?' from the plot to the people of color or diversity in general.
I wouldn't do a whole pop album. But I would do a musical.
I kept a lot of my ideas to myself because I honestly thought no one cared. So it was surprising to find out that people did! Now I know that I can do anything, and I want other people to feel the same.
I want to get to the point where I can retire at 21, and my whole family is proud of me. That's the goal in everything that I do.
I've always been interested in directing, writing, and producing, so when I went behind the scenes, it was like a whole new world that I got to experience.
I used to be the shy kid who would barely raise her hand or speak her mind.
The more comfortable you are, the more confident you are - in how you say your lines or how you perform in a certain scene - because you're working with great people who will watch over you and won't let you down.
Comedy is one of my favorites, but I also want to get into drama and sci-fi.
There's a bunch of stuff I want to act in and also create.
I am so excited for the magic I'll be able to create and produce with Universal.
Everyone thinks you have to grow up to know who you are, but kids already know who we are. The world just beats it out of us.
We need more of those characters that lead by example for people coming up next to us.
I don't miss public school.
I hope that we always have diversity, that we have equality and representation every step of the way.
I just want to keep making my family proud.
It just runs through my family, to be honest. I come from a very big musical, entertainment background.
I usually go home and go to sleep; that's what I do for fun.
I would always thank my parents in everything I do because they sacrificed everything for me to do what I love.
Growing up, I didn't have any inspirations.
The majority of my time working is with adults, so I have 'experience' without experiencing it.
I hope to bring fresh ideas to the big screen.
