Of all the young things to make it big in Hollywood in the last six or so months, we couldn't be happier with the whirlwind of success of Precious star Gabourey Sidibe. Plucky, brilliant, and effervescent, Sidibe has a charm that belies the downtroddenness of her on-screen alter-ego. We already knew this when she sat down with BlackBook last November, on the eve of the film's release. However, in spite of the film's runaway success three months later, Sidibe still remains awesome as ever. A recent Guardian profile of the actress finds Sidibe's candor and confidence so refreshing that you can't help but tut-tut the false pretenses of other young stars.

('’)On understanding the character of Precious Jones better than director Lee Daniels:

I don't think Lee got Precious at the start...he assumed what she was like. He thought bigger girls were dumb. Is he ever wrong! Hell, yeah. I'm a girl--so I knew what Precious was like a little bit better than [Daniels]. Plus, he's from Philadelphia and I'm from Harlem, so I brought New York to this character.

On the myth of a certain four-letter word:

Just because our president is black doesn't mean our struggle stops. The Obama family is something for us to aspire to, but a lot of us aren't going to get there. Precious's story is a fiction but it's also a truth. There are lots of Preciouses out there and not all of them are as lucky as her. She has a light of hope in her that we see in the film even when she's in the heart of darkness. Others may not be so lucky. But who knows if she's going to get out of her world. We hope she will, though, don't we?

Many have wondered if there's a place for Sidibe in Hollywood. And before Precious started its awards sweep, that was looking shaky, but Sidibe's fortunes are looking sunny, especially with Yelling to the Sky, in which she stars opposite Don Cheadle. On exploring new roles:

This time, I get to make out with a boy. I know that because I wrote it into the script.

And finally, on awesomeness:

The press paints the picture that I got this role and now I'm awesome. But the truth is that I've been awesome and then I got this role.