Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.
I took one thing to heart that I heard from Sidney Poitier in 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.' And it resonated so much with me. He says: 'Dad, you always looked at yourself as a black man. I look at myself as a man.'
I love emotion. I love being in love. And showing that on screen. I think it's wonderful.
I've done a lot of different things in my life. I've parachuted, done some deep-sea diving. Inasmuch as it's safe to do, I can do it.
On my wall, along with my favorite football players and baseball players, I had Marlon Brando and Sir Laurence Olivier. These were childhood idols.
I really do believe that was what I was put on this planet to do: to give to people and, through my performances, show them another world - in the case of '24,' to show them what a politician, black or white, should be. Basically, I wanted to be a service to others.
There are always different roles and questions to be asked about certain characters.
I look at Facebook a fair bit. I see what's posted. I see the travesties and illegalities of what police forces do. And I also see and understand that it is sanctioned by the general public - or we would do something.
If I weren't an actor, I'd either be a teacher or a critic.
I like to think I'm multi-faceted. Actually, my favorite roles are roles like in 'Far from Heaven.' Y'know. Soft people. Loving people.
I would love a combination of action/adventure and... love. And stories told with heart. I would like people to be invigorated as well as moved. People to see the movie and see that. I love to play, y'know, well-rounded characters.
I think I'd make a great superhero. I'm serious. I want to play a superhero, and I've already got one in mind. I think I've still got the body for the costume, and it's something I really want to do.
People want good stories.
When you work on big commercial movies, of course there's more money involved and you can still do some good work. But with an independent, you get films that are really close to the writers' and directors' heart. Somehow it becomes a little deeper. A little more meat and not as much flash.
I played a little basketball, but basketball interfered with theater season. That's when we did our term plays and did nutshell versions of Shakespeare for English classes. And, believe me, I got a fair amount of looks from the guys on the team. 'You're in theater but you can play football?'
I've studied theater since high school. Of course, it's a different story altogether being on Broadway, but it's still theater, and you have to be in front of a live audience, and that's very exciting. It's something I've definitely wanted to do, but I got involved in movies and television, and then it became a luxury to get back on the stage.
I have always thought of myself as an athlete - even at the ripe old age of 52.
I pride myself on being limber.
The bottom line is people are people, and the sooner we realise that, the better off things are going to be.
Dad worked as a security guard for United Airlines, and Mom was a housewife who cleaned houses to make ends meet.
