Most people say I look mean, and because I play so many tough roles and because of my size and my martial arts background, they think I am, but I'm really not.

In my early childhood, I was a performer by nature. I used to do puppet shows as a kid and entertain kids in classes and the teachers would make it a point that I was the entertainer of the class, but only after high school and in college that I started doing theater and acting classes, because I thought it would be fun.

There's all kinds of depictions of black men. You have the Denzel Washingtons and the Will Smiths; that's wonderful, but that doesn't represent everyone. There's a Russell Crowe... well, you know, there's a black Russell Crowe.

It doesn't seem weird to me, at all. I'm in Baton Rouge getting ready to direct a movie for Sony, and I'm in the movie and I'm directing it. I know it's kind of this thing where some people find it difficult. I just finished a movie with Mario Van Peebles and he acted and directed as well too. I think we all feel similar that it just kind of seems natural.

To me, the responsibility of an actor is to recreate humanity honestly. I never feel like an actor, I always look at it from a blue collar perspective.

I enjoy logic and logic puzzles. And filmmaking is one fun logic puzzle that you gotta win.

I don't cook. I think they named the 'Mike'-rowave after me.