Africans, we hold on to our youths and whip them into shape.

The only thing I change mainly is my sneakers. I love sneakers. But everything's sort of black or jeans. Jeans, always.

I was on a well-beaten path of actors - what we all call 'the Law and Order route'. I spent two years of auditioning for everything... and then 'The Wire' came up.

It could be Grammy night, Oscar night, whatever - I don't feel the pressure to be there.

As an actor, you're trained to do the right thing, be politically correct, say your lines, say the right thing about the people you're working with...

I love to play different roles. That's just the kind of actor I am.

There's a fast-track if you can do the networking. For some personalities it works, but for mine it doesn't.