[Having monologue] are talking to somebody even if it's just to yourself, convince yourself if that's what you're trying to do.

I think we're fascinated by gangsters and that whole lifestyle and crossing the line. We get sort of stuck in our normal lives, if you will, and you want to be bigger than life and I think people somehow live through these sorts of characters.

I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you're prepared for it.

Talent comes from God. If you have been given some, then value it, cultivate it, work and develop it.

I'm older and wiser. So and now having segued into filmmaking I'm looking at [Ridley Scott ] and what he does in an entirely different way and I have respect for what he does and how he composes shots. So that was what was completely fascinating.

I always say the time to worry about flying is when you're on the ground. If you don't trust the captain, don't go.

I was first introduced to August Wilson in the 80s when Charles Dutton did Ma Rainey and James Earl Jones and Courtney Vance did Fences. I've long considered August Wilson to be one of the five greatest playwrights in American history.