Aja is featured as one of the cover stars of Marie Claire‘s 2017 Fresh Faces issue! Emily Ratajkowski, Janelle Monae, Zoey, Deutch, and Alexandra Daddario also have their own covers. There’s an excerpt from the article below and 2 videos. I’ve also added photos to the gallery, and scans will come when the issue is released. Marie Claire‘s May 2017 Fresh Faces issues hits newsstands on April 18!

On working as a black woman in Hollywood: “Maybe I’m outdated in thinking this, but because I’m a young black woman and don’t see very many being the lead in a film, I have this fear, Will I be working? When I first started in this industry, my goal was to be some best friend. The sidekick. I thought that would be an accomplishment. But seeing people like Viola and Tracee Ellis Ross and Gabrielle Union and Lupita [Nyong’o]—who was two classes behind me at Yale—I can hope for more.”

On her role on the ABC hit drama How to Get Away with Murder: “That has been the real artist challenge, being given something so outlandish and then creating your own gravitational pull. But you learn very quickly that you can’t ridicule it too much, because it will be harder to honor it and harder to do your job. I am still enjoying it, but it is hard work.”

On approaching future projects for the joy of working and nothing else: “Now I am at this place where I realize that going into it, I never expected any of the initial attention and praise. So that is how I want to continue to approach all my work—with little or no expectations—because I am hoping I will always do things purely for the joy of doing things that matter to me. I don’t ever want to do things that aren’t making me expand and challenge myself.”

Source: Marie Claire