Lena Waithe sees her career as a "marathon"

Speaking at first ESSENCE House: Hollywood event, she said: "When you get to the front of the line, then it's about how do I stay at the front of the line? Who’s next to me at the front of the line? And who am I looking back and bringing with me to the front of the line. I think that’s really the space that I’m in now.

"Don’t get too caught up in the the finish line. Because you can’t take all the things that come with the trophy if you haven’t done the marathon."

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old star previously insisted she would love to have a legacy and thus chooses her jobs carefully.

She said: "I just don’t want to make things that are forgettable. I want to make things that make you feel something and, as long as it makes you feel, that’s all I care about."

And Lena previously insisted she never wanted to be an actress.

She explained: "I think that's what's so cool about it. It was not a part of my master plan, at all. I wish it had been. I wish I could say that I had this great idea like, 'Yeah, I'll do the acting thing, which will then help the writing thing'. It just happened, around the same time. For me, it's been a wonderful journey to just stand at different places on set, as an actor and understanding that role. I feel like I'm the least stressed, when I'm acting on a set, because I just gotta hit my mark and have fun with the lines, listen to the director and go home. When I'm a writer on set, I'm not stressed, but my brain doesn't shut off because I'm like, 'I could improve that line', or, 'I could punch that joke up more', or, 'This scene isn't working the way I had intended it'. My brain is just constantly going, and I actually have fun doing that because I'm a writer first."