I was working at the store on the Sony studios in Culver City. And I was literally holding a shirt when they came in and told me I'd got the part! It just shows dreams do come true.

When your heart is first, you can be absent of heart but when you put spirit first, you have a reason for why you do heart.

I get to be in movies where it's mostly dialogue, and I want to be in something, that for me, feels like kickboxing.

I was watching TV at age 9 or 10, and my mom said that I came from the front room and I told her that I want to act. And she said if you want to do this at 18, then you can. It was a very simple story, yet, I do not even remember the conversation that I had with my mother. Until she reminded me of the story many years later.

In my heart of hearts I believe I was made to entertain.

Denzel Washington invoked confidence. When you have confidence, you can do anything. And that's what happened. I learned about being honest and keeping it true, keeping it true in my performance.

Hip-hop was my first audience - I would rap in the mirror, walk down the street and listen to my Walkman.