I think sometimes what people miss about black people is that we're complicated.

I didn't see myself any different from my white counterparts in school. I just didn't! I thought I could do what they did. And what I didn't do well, I thought people were going to give me the opportunity to do well, because maybe they saw my talent, so they would give me a chance. I had no idea that they would see me completely different.

When you're really passionate, you're going to grab hold of every rope you see, and wrap them around your arms and legs to claw your way out. And that's the way I've felt in my life.

I get so excited when my daughter says something new, which she is doing every day. I can leave the house for a few hours, come back and meet a totally different person. That's very exciting to me.

All you really need to do is shift people just a tiny bit for change to happen. It doesn't have to be huge and humongous.

Relationships change us and make us grow.

Cicely Tyson was my inspiration to become an actor.