I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.

In 2009, Scott Rudin sent me August's [Wilson] original screenplay [Fences] and asked me what I wanted to do with it. He wanted to know if I wanted to act in it, direct it or produce it. I said, "Well, let me read it first."

[My father] could see as far as he could see and my mother wanted us to go to college so it was a very real part of my life.

In the movie I realized, I had the luxury of getting to see how the other person feels.

Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do.

I even asked [Saniyya Sidney] why she wanted to be an actor and she said, "I'm serious about this. These other little kids they want to play, and I don't have time for that."

We do what we have to so we can do what we want to.