Race seems to me to be less and less a subject worth discussing.

People say it's a movie about boxing, but... I don't agree at all. I don't think it's a movie about boxing. Boxing is like a platform. It's just a stage where this is played out.

Part of acting is having the security to turn yourself loose and let yourself go in order to reach whatever depths a character has. If your guts aren't hanging out there, you don't offer anything.

I would never complain that Hollywood is racist when I'm one of the people touted as a welcome entity there.

I remember saying to my agent, "Listen, everybody's going out to Hollywood and making movies. I think I ought to go out there." And his advice to me was, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. If they want you in Hollywood, they'll send you." And sure enough, they did.

The surest way to lose at any endeavor is to quit.

Your job is always the same if it's a juggernaut or if it's just one of these little jewels of a film that's gonna wind up at the Laemmle or something, so your job doesn't change whatsoever... give it your best shot.