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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.