Ruth Negga never acted as a child.
The 35-year-old star, who has appeared in films such as ‘Capital Letters’, ‘Isolation’ and ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, never appeared on the stage during her younger years – but she always dreamed of making it as an actress.
She explained: "I didn’t act as a child. I just knew I wanted to do it."
Despite her lack of practice, Ruth revealed that she developed a passion for cinema and for acting simply by watching lots of movies as a child.
Asked if she ever performed in a school play, the actress told Town and Country magazine: "No, I just watched movies. I don’t know how to explain it."
She admitted, too, that she didn’t enjoy her school years, but recognised it afforded her the chance to achieve her broader ambition of becoming an actress.
Ruth said: "I wasn’t fond of school. But I wasn’t disruptive. I knew that I could use it to get somewhere. To get out so I would never have to go back."
Meanwhile, Ruth recently admitted she feels "very lucky" to be an actress.
Reflecting on her career, the Ethiopian-born Irish star shared: "I feel very lucky to be doing what I’m doing, like all art, there’s an unquantifiable aspect to this job, and there is a huge amount of luck involved.
"But luck is a funny thing; good or bad, it plays an important part in everything."
Ruth also admitted to being thrilled at having been offered the opportunity to star in the movie ‘Loving’, which explores the issue of interracial marriage.
She said: "As a person of colour, you can’t be ignorant of the fact that there are stories about race to be told, and I wanted to be part of that."