I fell into this role, and I've been able to make a career out of it

But for years I felt unqualified, seeking validation from anyone and everyone, validation that I had what it took to be a ‘thespian’. I’d idolise fellow actors and wish I could be as authentic and as vulnerable as they were

Being a storyteller is my passion, and I am so happy to have unlocked a first for myself. This role was both adventurous and fun.

Just knowing that I had the complexity and the capacity as an actor to play the kinds of roles I always wanted to play. I think I had always wanted to go down a certain road, but I had insecurities about whether or not I could really focus on that. So when I did that, it felt so good. I realized these kinds of complex roles and this kind of material is what I can steer myself toward. I don't have to worry if I’m good enough for it.

I think it’s incredible and I think I had a breakthrough in my acting career. I did something that I had never done before and to me, at least, it was quite successful.

When I did the audition, I already felt that this role was just sitting right in my skin, I don’t know why. This movie and character were different from anything I’ve done in my career before

I was just so happy that I got a role and could give a performance. I still feel nervous at the thought of meeting an audience through the screen. I never dreamed that the show would become such a global sensation.

It took me nine months before I could secure my first big role

I outperformed the expectation, I launched myself and I earned my spot,

I've always known I wanted to go into acting, but being a very proud teenager I wasn't ready to admit it until I felt like it was going to be possible. I acted in school and I did some short films in Portugal and some Portuguese theater and things like that, [but] obviously there's only so far you can go, so I moved to London and pursued it here. It all fell into place very quickly. I got an agent and from that point on I got very ballsy and said, "I'll get the work with or without you so you better send me to these auditions." Somehow, I got the first one I went for—I think I was so blinded by adrenaline and excitement. She was an East End showgirl. I just winged it. I remember getting to set and realizing that I was the least experienced one. I remember thinking, "Oh my God, what have I done? What have I gotten myself into?" It worked; I'm still here.

Your God-given talent is now your vocation; your peers too, finally see it as a viable career

Initially, I think it was a desperate need for validation. Once I became more comfortable in my own skin, I discovered I enjoyed performance for its own sake, and the challenges that come from creating characters and making them believable. Or at least memorable.

It makes me feel like a very special person, that I'm able to make my living with my imagination. I developed a big respect for my calling while I was in school, and it remains with me to this day.

It was only when I went to England and got this role quite by accident that I decided, ‘Oh, this is what I want to do