Selenis Leyva is a film, television and off-Broadway actress who currently stars in the Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black.”

When did you know you wanted to be an actress?

I remember growing up and watching [nighttime TV shows]. I was too young to watch them, but I remember the drama was exciting and it was so far fetched, I would go to my room and act it out. So before I could articulate that I wanted to be an actress, I knew that I wanted to be an actress somehow. Then we moved into a house where they had all these old plays downstairs in the basement, and the first play I picked up was [Federico Garcia] Lorca’s Blood Weddings. And I remember reading it, and not understanding it, but something about it made me feel alive. And then I realized I was born to do this.

How important was your family? Did they support your dreams?

I’m really lucky in that I have amazing parents. My father left Cuba in the 1960s to come to this country to make sure his kids would eventually dream free. So, he was never one to say you can’t do that. Because he believes in dreaming big, and my mother supported me until now, they were both amazing supporters of this journey. They believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.

Selenis Leyva (L) and Elizabeth Rodriguez (R) in a scene from Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” Season 2. Photo credit: K.C. Bailey for Netflix.

How have you dealt with obstacles along the way?

The world of acting always saved me somehow. I would write a lot. I used to write, I’d sing when I was younger and I would write my own songs. That was my creative outlet. I always feel like that’s why I’m such an advocate of the arts in education, because I really feel it’s a wonderful way to save a lot of kids, just like sports is, like music is.

On Orange Is the New Black, your character Gloria gets into a dispute with Sophia, another inmate who is a transgender woman. How difficult was that to do?

It was a story that needed to be told, because that’s real life. I don’t feel that way, but there are a lot of people who do, and say horrible things. [My character] was speaking out of anger, then felt really bad about it. But for me as an actress, I have a transgender sister, so it was absolutely heartbreaking to be a part of the hate I’m always fighting against.

You’ve been very public in your support of your sister, Marizol. How important is it for people in transition to feel that kind of acceptance?

It is so important. [Understanding] really starts in the home. I think my sister and so many other transgender children and grown-ups really need the support of their families.

The fourth season of Orange Is the New Black will premiere in 2016.