That's what David Caruso said to me. We were talking about the whole Emmy thing, and he said that one of the things about awards in this town is that a lot is about the drama - like the drama of the performance. And he said "Your show, The Wire, looks so real, it almost looks like a documentary. And people who aren't artists - a lot of people who vote for this stuff - don't get it."

Most of the characters I'd played were so different from me, so far from me that I had to transform.

'The Wire' really drew on a lot of real-life situations and real-life organizations - it created fiction to make a social statement about reality.

The African American community is so under-served in the entertainment industry.

In drama school, my greatest strength was my range. So my early career was like that: I played all kinds of different characters.

I’m interested not just in projects that I’ll be starring in, but producing film and TV that’s really quality and great for adults; and when I say great for adults, it doesn’t mean without humor, because I’m also interested in doing comedy.

If you're going to come at me, come at me respectfully, and I will respond respectfully.