There's a forgiveness that literary audiences will give you that film audiences don't give you. It's the two hour construct. You're in there and it needs to climax and finish.

You have to make every group you come in contact with better.

Part of being an actor is almost self-hypnosis during those brief moments when the cameras are rolling. You want to actually believe you're Chris Gardner or Muhammad Ali.

The desire to be a good father is really innate. There aren't a lot of movies that depict that relationship because men, we have to pretend that we're not that emotional about it.

The way I like to measure greatness is... How many people can you make want to be better?

The big thing I tell my kids is you have to control how you label things. It's very important to me they understand the power they have to create the lives that they want.

I honestly believe that if I decided to be the president of the United States, I could do it. That might sound foolish to some. But in my mind, if Ronald Reagan can become president, why not Will Smith?