I was raised a Southern Baptist, and my whole family were Christians. However, my Dad was really into science and astronomy, so I felt very balanced. I still had respect for faith.

I wouldn't take on the project unless I could have complete creative control in casting.

I've done movies where I've had to cast actors and teach them to rap, and cast rappers and teach them to act.

That movie was my girlfriend. That was my girl." I knew there was going to be initial anger. As a matter of fact, when I was deciding to do Footloose that was one of the first things that I had to realize. First of all, I had to figure out a human connection to it but then I also had to reconcile that I was going to get beat up a little bit on this a little bit.

There's something really special for a young person to sit in an audience and discover somebody, and it's rare to do because so much of a movie's economics are based on pre-existing actors or actresses.

I grew up in a place that felt very integrated.

I was chubby and awkward, and the only way I could really meet girls was to join children's theater, so that's what I did.