THE WALKING DEAD Actress Danai Gurira Explains Her Passions as She Prepares for Her Broadway Debut

Though fans might know her as katana wielding Michonne on THE WALKING DEAD, actress Danai Gurira is about to make her Brodway debut as the playwright this march with Eclipsed, starring oscar winning actress Lupita Nyong'o. All while that's going on, she also has an off broadway play, FAMILIAR, premiering soon, while simultaneously working on a pilot for HBO. It might seem like she's got too many things on her plate, but all of her projects stem from her passions, according to a recent interview with Variety.

"It's very clear to me what my drive is," she told Variety. "I tell African women's stories. It doesn't mean I don't do other things, but that's my thing. It's rooted in a passion for that, and it's rooted in a rage, because I feel that they are so under- and misrepresented. I'm trying to link these two places, and have Africa be seen by the West in a more multidimensional, complex and celebratory way."

And seeing how this is one of Broadway's most diverse seasons, yet, she fits right into to the bustling landscape. "The theatrical community is widening in a very thrilling way, and Danai is at the heart of it," says Rebecca Taichman, the director of FAMILIAR.

But, just when you think she's done, Danai is also an activist, as she is both the co-founder of the nonprofit Almasi Collaborative Arts, and is currently working on a campaign to reclaim Valentine's Day as a focal point of advocacy and awareness for girls and women around the world, which just also happens to be her birthday.

"I multitask a lot," she states. "I know there are all these statistics about multitaskers getting the least done, but I don't know how else to live."

If you would like to read more about Danai and what motivates her, you can check out the rest of the interview here.

Danai Gurira is an award-winning playwright and actress. As a playwright, her works include In the Continuum (OBIE Award, Outer Critics Award, Helen Hayes Award), Eclipsed (NAACP Award; Helen Hayes Award: Best New Play; Connecticut Critics Circle Award: Outstanding Production of a Play), and The Convert (six Ovation Awards, Los Angeles Outer Critics Award). Danai's newest play,Familiar, received its world premiere at Yale Rep in 2015 and will premiere in New York at Playwrights Horizons in February 2016. She is a recipient of the Whiting Award, a Hodder Fellow, and has been commissioned by Yale Rep, Center Theatre Group, Playwrights Horizons, and the Royal Court. She is currently developing a pilot for HBO. As an actor, she has appeared in the films The Visitor, Mother of George, and has also played Isabella in NYSF's "Measure for Measure." She currently plays Michonne on AMC's "The Walking Dead." She holds an MFA from Tisch, NYU. She is the co-founder of Almasi Arts, which works to give access and opportunity to the African Dramatic Artist. almasiartsalliance.org