I called Scott Rudin, and I told him I wanted to do the play [Fences], so that's how the ball got rolling. I never said, "I'll do the play, and the next year I'll do the film, I just wanted to do the play."

You don't know when you're being watched. That's one of the weird things about celebrity. It's my least favorite part of acting, celebrity.

I had a lot of success from the start. I never really was tested for long periods of time. I got my first professional job while I was a senior in college. I signed with the William Morris Agency before I graduated.

I'm not a big Hollywood star. I'm an actor. I'm called a star. That's not what I am. First of all I'm a human being; my profession is acting. People give you titles. They say you're an up and coming star, then they say you're a star, then they say you're a washed-up star. So I don't get caught up in what I'm called. My job, my profession, is acting.

To protect the sheep, you gotta catch the wolf. And it takes a wolf to catch a wolf, you understand?

You never know how you're going to affect people.

Thank God in advance for what's already yours.