Issa Rae never considered herself an actress

Issa Rae “never considered” herself as an actress.

The 35-year-old found fame by creating and co-writing the HBO TV show Insecure, which she stars in, and its success has helped her land roles in films such as Little, The Hate U Give, and The Photograph.

In a cover interview with Teen Vogue, Rae admitted she always thought she was an actress “for fun” and is experimenting with different genres to help her improve.

“I just want to try different things (and) keep getting better… because I’ve never considered myself an actress,” she said of her film career. “I always considered myself a writer-producer - and an actress for fun. I want to make sure that with each project I’m taking on, I’m bringing something to the table and not just showing up as me. A lot of people don't get this opportunity, so I don't want to take it for granted.”

Rae was gearing up to promote her new movie The Lovebirds, a romantic comedy with Kumail Nanjiani, when the coronavirus pandemic hit, causing the cancellation of South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, where it was set to premiere in March. Following the widespread closure of cinemas, the film was bought by Netflix and debuted on the streaming service earlier this month.

And Rae has been using the lockdown to work on a variety of upcoming creative projects.

“All I’ve ever said is, ‘If I just had more time, I could kill it.’ Lord knows I didn’t want it this way, but I’m just being very productive and getting all the s**t done that I’m being paid to do,” the star shared. “I still listen to the news every morning and have anxiety about all of the things that we are doing wrong, and I worry about my family, but the only way for me to not drive myself insane is to continue pretending like things are normal. Staying busy is how I cope.”