#moonlightcastedit

Naomie Harris photographed by JD Barnes

Janelle Monae - Uglydolls Portrait Session (April, 2019)

The question people ask me all the time is, “How was it playing a gay character? How was it pretending to love a man?” And I don’t mean to be abrasive, but that’s just the stupidest question in the world to me. To assume there is a difference is ignorance. You’re born a certain way. I was born loving women. I could have been born loving men. It’s the same fucking thing, man. Strip away race, strip away gender, strip away sexual orientation, we’re all these little blobs seeking out love. We’re all connected; we’re all the fucking same. I get heated when people ask that.

Naomie Harris photographed by Nico for The Edit Magazine, July 2015

Naomie Harris photographed by Geordie Wood for DuJour

Naomie Harris photographed by Nico for The Edit Magazine

I'm just dealing with the things that all men and women deal with when we recognize our faults. We all have to do work to be our best selves, to civilize ourselves in the way we see fit. I'm dealing with the things that keep me from being the fullest person I can be.

I want to inspire people to believe that there is no limit. There is no stopping, especially for an artist. There is no limit to artistry. No matter what you do, you do it your way, and you continue to do it however you want to do it. I want to be in these films that inspire people, where people can relate to my characters and fall in love with my characters, but at the same time I want to put out music and show people that you can tell stories through this art form. I want to pose for pictures. There’s no limits to anyone, that’s the biggest message I want to get out to people. I grew up believing that there were limits, but there really aren’t. The more these lessons are coming to me, the more I believe that there is no stopping point. And I don’t plan on stopping.