The people of Baltimore are great. I love Baltimore. What I looked forward to, every year, was getting a new apartment in a different part of town and hanging out. People started to see you in the character that you were, so everyone thought I was real police.

The role of culture is that it's the form through which we as a society reflect on who we are, where we've been, where we hope to be.

I went to Beijing for the Olympics and was literally right across the track from Usain Bolt. And when he gets to full stride, for every two steps the other guy's taking, he's just taking one.

One of the richest countries in the history of the world having communities where people have to go over half an hour to get to fresh produce and food is unacceptable.

And that's what art is, a form in which people can reflect on who we are as human beings and come to some understanding of this journey we are on.

One of the real worries I had before the first season of 'Treme' aired was that, man, people in New Orleans really hold movie and television shows up to a high standard in how they depict the city.

Culture is the intersection between people and dealing with the journey of life itself. How to deal with life, how a people deals with life is literally manifested in its culture, in its food, in its music, in its art, in the way you dance, the way you communicate.