Troubled times do call for troubled songs, songs that unsettle our souls and our spirits unapologetically.

If you don't have courage, you can't practice any of the other virtues.

Why don't we scale up those things that do work.

I use the phrase "fellow citizen" all the time when referring to the - people always say, "The American people, the American people." I prefer the phrase fellow citizen because there's a power in that, there's a responsibility, there's a duty in using that phrase fellow citizen.

I'm always fascinated by people from the Midwest, because it is so different than Hollywood, who discover at some point that they want to be in Hollywood.

When I'm at the premiere and I see the film in its entirety, I forget plot, I forget the story, I forget what my character goes through, because I really do just let it go.

I don't want the Obama era to be more about symbolism than substance when it comes to black people. I love him, but I love black people even more.