My impression of Wall Street growing up was certainly that it was like the big, bad place where all of the men did the bad things with our money.

I was assigned female at birth. My gender identify is non-binary.

What I learned through my research is that the word ‘actor,’ specifically in reference to those who performed in plays, came about in the late 1500s as a non-gendered word. It applied to all people, regardless of anatomical sex or gender identity.

Gender-neutral clothing is often, for lack of a better term, bags on bags. A baggy shirt with baggy pants, that sort of erases any individuality, as opposed to enhancing it.

Art is so valuable that I think its misuse is really dangerous. When it’s used well, when it’s telling a story well or creating representation or visibility for something that’s really lacking, it can really save lives.

There was a time when it was important culturally to have the word ‘actress,’ I suppose, but when it comes to awards ceremonies, we don’t have ‘Best Directress’ or ‘Best Cinematographeress!’

When you are not working in TV and primarily doing film, you’re working with one director for a long period of time, so getting to work with 12 different directors in the span of six months is incredible.

I really like working with different directors. It’s really fun.

I spent so many years not understanding my own gender identity and not having the language for it, and not having those conversations, that now I’m so eager to talk about it. Then I learn more about myself and other people.

I’m very careful with my media intake. I try and monitor it pretty carefully.

I would love to do things that teach me new skills. Like, I don’t know how to ride a horse. And not that I need a film or television project to teach me that, but it’s one of the perks of being an actor, inhabiting a character who has experiences and a knowledge that I don’t.

Because I was assigned female at birth and I am light-skinned, white, I think people hear my message more than they hear it from someone who was assigned male at birth and is a person of colour.

While I acknowledge that it’s not my whiteness that has given me my platform entirely… it’s part of the reason I’ve garnered so much acceptance and praise for being out and nonbinary.

I think we’re at a really critical time in terms of art, and I think it’s totally possible to have a project that is entertaining but also moving the cultural needle forward. I think it’s one of the reasons I’m so grateful to work on ‘Billions.’

I remember specifically a couple of performances that I saw when I was young – River Phoenix in ‘Stand by Me’ and also Michael Jackson, in particular his ability to command such power and love while maintaining such deep vulnerability. It really moved my soul from a very young age.

If someone says ‘she‘ or ‘he,’ and it’s unintentional, I can tell if it’s coming from a place of love. It’s only when someone misgenders me on purpose that it becomes hurtful.

‘Laramie’ is a way in to replacing any hate in your heart with understanding, compassion, and acceptance.

Dating has never been something I’ve done. It’s never been a part of my life.

The work that I engage with, whether it’s self-generated or collaborative, is uplifting and supporting historically marginalized and disenfranchised people, because when I uplift up those groups, I’m uplifting myself and supporting myself – it works out in that way.

I see reflections of what I love about myself in the love and care I receive from my friends, family, and co-workers who, in turn, allow me to love and care about them.

Labels can be really helpful when we have the autonomy to label ourselves. But when other people label us without our permission, that’s when it becomes dangerous.

I wish everyone could just be free.

I love that although the world is a dangerous place, I still find it to be beautiful.

Me feeling ambiguous about my gender identity has been a lifelong feeling, certainly.

This character I play on ‘OITNB’ is an antagonist in a Black Lives Matter storyline, but you need antagonists in order to tell those stories.

I’ve always felt like I’m Asia: I’m the first me and I’m the first Asia that’s going to walk into the room, and I’m here to change the game. That’s part of who I am.

Creating more characters that represent historically marginalized and historically disenfranchised people in television and film is certainly important.

I moved to New York at 17 to go to school. At 24, I moved back to Ithaca, then moved back to New York at 28.

I love that I dream big and go after my dreams with all I’ve got to give.

I struggled coming to terms with the fact that I’d been assigned female at birth, but that I didn’t feel like a girl or a woman or a man or a boy.

Ithaca is sort of a populated and diverse area. There’s a wide spectrum of people living there. In that sense, it was a wonderful place to grow up because it was a microcosm – ultimately, I would learn – of New York City.

I do say gender fluid, because I experience my gender identity as being fluid because it’s on a spectrum.

I find that, often, when I tell people what pronoun I use, I don’t get a lot of backlash. I’m really lucky in that respect.

Given the choice between ‘actor’ and ‘actress,’ ‘actor’ is a non-gendered word that I use.

Non-binary is a term used by some people, myself included, who feel that their gender identity falls outside the tradition boxes of man or woman.