When I was younger, living in an all-black neighborhood the other kids thought I was better than them because of my light skin and straight hair. Then we moved to an all-white neighborhood and that was a culture shock ... I'd been used to being around all black kids.

You have to get the audience invested even if you're doing something that they think is dumb, it's kind of what these movies are all about.

Beauty is not just physical.

I know that I will never find my father in any other man who comes into my life, because it is a void in my life that can only be filled by him.

I used to have to downplay my sexuality because I wanted to be taken so seriously as a thespian and as an artist and as an actor, so I'd play crack heads and down trotting women and disguise myself, and I think as I've gotten older, I become more comfortable with who I really am and all parts of me knowing that my physical self doesn't diminish me in any way or my talent.

The times may have changed, but the people are still the same. We're still looking for love, and that will always be our struggle as human beings.

My mother helped me identify myself the way the world would identify me. Bloodlines didn't matter as much as how I would be perceived.