My mother's in my life, but at the time you imagine your mom passing away, not being there ... as a kid you try to think of something that hurts you the most ... It was just a tool [in "Hardball"].

It may not happen in my lifetime, but if I can play a part in moving things along, then I feel I've done a good job.

You start at a young age, going on auditions, and you think you did a good job and expect to get that role, and you don't, and it's a letdown, a disappointment. So you tell yourself to just do the work and disconnect, because you have no control over the outcome.

I don't like speaking on things that I don't care about and that I'm not personally invested in.

I feel like you have to pull from some personal experiences [to acting]. At least that's how I work sometimes. It's just easier that way. And I try it as best as I can and kind of dissolve myself and become a character, not me, or just blur the lines.

As an actor, you never want to feel like a tool. You never want to feel like, "Hey, just come here, say this, stop here, look this way," and that's it. You want to have a little input.

In many ways for black actors there's been two leading guys: It's Will Smith vs. Denzel [Washington].