“When I started, it was all meter maids or the sassy nurse, or the sassy receptionist in the hospital. And I felt like: Are those the only jobs that large, black women have?”

Retta, on the roles she would be offered in Hollywood.

“Casting directors, who don’t necessarily know me — all they get are pictures. So they see your face, and they’re like, ‘Oh, we can place her in this or that.’ “

Check out NPR’s story on actors of color navigating stereotypes in Hollywood.