“WE DON’T GET TO JUST BE BORING”

In Insecure, you play a young woman who is just starting to deal with the realities of adulthood. What makes her tick? She is complacent and used to doing what is comfortable, which makes her kind of passive-aggressive. She’s always wishing for stuff, but doesn’t take action. Then, there’s a moment where she’s just like, “Ya know what? I’m tired of coasting at my job and in my relationship. I want to be a different person.” It’s about overcoming her own insecurities, and wanting to be . . . more.

Is that autobiographical? Your character is named Issa. In my mid-twenties, I was comparing myself to peers, going to these Christmas parties where my Stanford classmates would meet up. I have a friend who was about to be a doctor, another who was a 25-year-old diplomat. They’d