Lupita Nyong`o thanks Ralph Fiennes for acting career

Los Angeles: Lupita Nyong`o, who made her debut with Steve McQueen`s “12 Years a Slave”, credits Ralph Fiennes for her acting career.

She says that Fiennes gave her the encouragement to chase her dreams while she was working as a runner on the set of “The Constant Gardener”, reports eonline.com. She said: "He asked me what I wanted to do with my life, and I very timidly admitted that I was interested in being an actor. He sighed and said, `If there`s something else that you want to do, do that. Only act if you feel you can`t live without it.`" "It wasn`t what I wanted to hear, but it was the thing I needed to hear," added the actress who went on to graduate from Yale University School of Drama`s Acting programme in 2012. After her debut in McQueen slavery drama, Lupita will next appear alongside Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore in "Non-Stop" but claims she still hasn`t come to terms with her success in "12 Years a Slave" and new-found fame.