And, as Aduba told theDaily Beast, she had her share of hard times starting out.
“During my time in theater, there were lows,” she said.
“Shows closed, unexpectedly (or worse, never opened!).
“She never played ‘the practical parent’ or pleaded with me to pursue something more stable.
Instead, she encouraged me and supported me.
‘Just keep pushing,’ ‘Keep going,’ she would say,” Aduba recalled.
And, from how Aduba’s career has advanced, this has proven to be sound advice.
Here’s more about Uzo Aduba you don’t already know.
Uzo Aduba’s Nigerian-born mother followed this practice with special focus.
During this time, her mother also survived Nigeria’s civil war and genocidal attacks against the Igbo.
“My mother is a fighter,” Aduba said.
“My name, less the name itself, but rather what it represents, is precious to me.
“I live for rehearsal,” she said.
“Our cast is a big rehearsal cast.
Uzo Aduba trained as a figure skater
Acting wasn’t Uzo Aduba’s first passion.
Long before she caught the acting bug, she was a serious competitive figure skater.
AsThe New Yorkerreported, she trained in skating from the age of 5 to 15.
“I could do a triple Salchow, a double Axel, a triple flip,” she added.
“My parents were, like, ‘That’s never happening,'” she told The New Yorker.
“I heard the word ‘no’ so often that it started to feel like a second name.
I watched my savings dwindle.”
This was great news for both her checking account and her vision as an actor.
I would love to be a part of something like that,'” she said.
… Well, you didn’t get it.'”
Their response confused her.
Then she learned the good news was that they were offering her another part instead that of Crazy Eyes.
Aduba was initially puzzled by the casting decision.
I just really wanted to go in and … tell her story from her perspective,” she said.
She soon found out.
“But her execution might be somehow mismanaged.”
She also doesn’t do anything by half measures.
“Everything about her exists at a 10,” Aduba told Fast Company.
“She gets angry at a 10.
She loves at a 10.
She feels like she’s fallen ill at a 10.”
I took roles for free.
I didn’t care because it was work," she told theDaily Beast.
I would not allow my mother’s journey to be in vain."
She explained that studying opera involves much more than just singing.
AsPlaybillnotes, Aduba took singing roles in several Broadway shows, including “Godspell.”
“I’d kill to sing again,” she toldThe Guardian.
“I practice every day.
In fact, I have a vocal lesson in a couple of hours.”
“That’s a heavy job.”
As she toldThe New Yorker, sports have always been a part of her life.
“And I’m grateful to have done it because it’s been amazing.”
“I love sports I love soccer,” she told Kimmel.
The rest of her day when not dedicated to work is just as wholesome.
She dedicates part of each day to catching up with family and friends.
“Spending time with my loved ones that’s a huge priority for me,” she said.
For Aduba, lunch is not at a trendy restaurant, but made from scratch at home.
“The way that I really like to take a break is to cook,” she said.
“It also helps me not lose my energy throughout the day.
Finally, she likes to end her days in bed with a good book.
A novel called “My Sister the Serial Killer” (here are otherbooks celebs recommend).
