I had learned something of Miami from people who had visited there, so I knew what to expect.

I did not go into the film business to be symbolized as someone else's vision of me.

I learned to hear silence. That's the kind of life I lived: simple. I learned to see things in people around me, in my mom, dad, brothers and sisters.

I knew what it was to be uncomfortable in a movie theater watching unfolding on the screen images of myself - not me, but black people - that were uncomfortable.

I was fortunate enough to have been raised to a certain point before I got into the race thing. I had other views of what a human is, so I was never able to see racism as the big question. Racism was horrendous, but there were other aspects to life.

Acting isn't a game of "pretend." It's an exercise in being real.

Every new fashion is a form of rebellion.