I am admiring of my fellow peers, black filmmakers and black actors and actresses.

We all create our own reality by the choices we make.

There are roles I want that my agency might not want me to do because of the subject matter or whatever. Or there are roles that people won't bring to me because they don't think I'll do it. And that is a big strain because an actor wants to act

I speak to my agent about great roles, and he's like, 'They are all going to Will Smith.

I understand it all. I can write my own ticket for one or two movies. But if they're not the right ones, my ticket gets yanked. I understand that's how it works, and I'm okay with it.

When I commit to a role, I always tell myself that role is king. That's the Bible. If I start to judge my character, than it's going to influence my performance, and I don't want that. I want to find the truth in the character.

I learned that not only am I a descendant of slaves, but that I am also a descendant of royalty, that there are politicians from the 1800s as well as Tuskegee Airmen in my lineage.