Wendell Pierce Quotes

Whenever an actor was going to die, I tried to help them understand not to take it personally. It wasn't about them. It's the story.

One of the real worries I had before the first season of 'Treme' aired was that, man, people in New Orleans really hold movie and television shows up to a high standard in how they depict the city.

Your actions are not in a vacuum. They impact other people. It may be in a way that's less obvious than in mainstream movies, but it comes to an understanding of who those people are. It also leaves it open to interpretation. And that's what art is, a form in which people can reflect on who we are as human beings and come to some understanding of this journey we are on.

Stories work, if they have a beginning, middle and end.

People forget that art is not just a piece of entertainment. It is the place where we collectively declare our values and then act on them. That's one of the most powerful things we have as a community: our culture and our art. And it's the intersection between life and how people deal with life. It's the most important thing we do.

We don't eat to live, we live to eat because that's a part of the creativity of the day.

Art imitating life and life imitating art, and it's beyond the job - it will always be a marked period in my life.

Culture is the intersection between people and dealing with the journey of life itself. How to deal with life, how a people deals with life is literally manifested in its culture, in its food, in its music, in its art, in the way you dance, the way you communicate.

Be your true self. Because if you're not, there are consequences to be paid.

And that's what art is, a form in which people can reflect on who we are as human beings and come to some understanding of this journey we are on.

A lot of cats in New Orleans, very soulful, very soulful musicians and they assume that they're singers. And they just make that assumption. And so when there's a little intonation problem, people are very forgiving of them because they heard how soulful they play.

The whole idea of jazz came about was the interpretation of the human dialogue, trading fours. When someone's soloing and someone picks up the solo and plays it back at 'em, it was the imitation of the human dialogue. It was how people spoke, through music.

New Orleans, more than many places I know, actually tangibly lives its culture. It's not just a residual of life; it's a part of life. Music is at every major milestone of our life: birth, marriage, death. It's our culture.

We always see abhorrent behavior and say why, but then we get mad when somebody tries to answer.

The real question is, Why do you feel as though that's emasculating? A man can't have a conflict? When you try to do art, it's how it lands on people, and hopefully some people will see it the way that I saw it, which is all of these awful choices come from the place of a man who's damaged.

Gregory Hines was the most talented man I've ever met or seen. Gregory Hines is one of those people that whenever he talked to you, you felt like you were the center of the universe.

The NFL is such a large, multibillion dollar enterprise with fan loyalty because they have provided not only entertainment for sports fans, but memories, good memories, family memories to these fans, that can only bring about good will.

The power of a sports team in a community it's almost indescribable.

What thoughts are to the individual, art is to the community as a whole. That's where you reflect on who you are, who you hope to be, what you've gone through, and where you hope to go.

When you're doing comedy on stage, it's great because you have the audience there and they're like another actor in the scene. You feed off of them, laugh. But in film when everyone's quiet, it's all about timing. But the key to that is to be authentic. Be in the moment, and if you play the moment truthfully, the humor will be there.

That is the heart and soul of the American dream, homeownership, the idea of being able to buy a house and start to build your family.

Culture is the intersection of people and life itself. Its how we deal with life, love, death, birth, disappointment... all of that is expressed in culture.

There's no greater honor, as an actor, to be a part of a project that changes lives, and awakens and enlightens and entertains.

It was really great to also see the response that people were having to 'Treme' 'cause you're in a vacuum when you're on a TV show. You see the response online, you read about it and all of that, but actually to be live and have that many thousands of fans come out, it's really wonderful.

We always see abhorrent behavior and say why, but then we get mad when somebody tries to answer. Just to answer the question why does not say I'm validating behavior. I'm just saying, if we're going to be a student of human behavior, be a true student.

I come out of journalism, and then book writing. There, it's just you and your editor and maybe a copy desk, looking over your editor's shoulder, and that's the story. It's right there. I can show it to you because it's on paper.

At Julliard we had some voice classes. It was really just so you could carry a tune. It always just helps with your speaking voice also, when you connect your diaphragm and your breath.

The role of culture is that it's the form through which we as a society reflect on who we are, where we've been, where we hope to be.

Our thoughts are to the individual as our art is to the community.

I always wanted to be a journeyman actor. I wanted to be able to do comedy and drama, classical and contemporary. I like to do film and theater. And I pride myself on that diversity of being a journeyman actor.

I'm so thankful when I have a job. I would say the worst job I ever had was the one I quit after the first night. I was an overnight restaurant janitor. And it wasn't because of the job. We had to do four restaurants in the night, overnight. But I was working with a den of thieves. I just quit the next day.

I played trumpet for about two weeks. Sixth grade. And I didn't practice. Maybe a little longer than two weeks, but I didn't practice and I was faking it.

One of the richest countries in the history of the world having communities where people have to go over half an hour to get to fresh produce and food is unacceptable.

I understand that we should never lose our right to be offended, so I accept it. But for me it was always a study of human behavior because if we just demonize it, it becomes unreal.

The Wire' really is an American classic, and I think that's something to be very proud of.

Whenever I go someplace I always buy something, collect something, to help me remember the trip. So I guess I collect mementos from my many travels.

I worked at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, lived there for three years, and lived in Baltimore for 12 years.

I went to Beijing for the Olympics and was literally right across the track from Usain Bolt. And when he gets to full stride, for every two steps the other guy's taking, he's just taking one.

The people of Baltimore are great. I love Baltimore. What I looked forward to, every year, was getting a new apartment in a different part of town and hanging out. People started to see you in the character that you were, so everyone thought I was real police.