Music's been part of my entire life. It's in my DNA.
I'm looking for diversity, all my characters may or may not be on the wrong side of the tracks. It doesn't mean that they're all the same.
My childhood was pretty colorful; I like to use the word turbulent. But it was a great time to grow up, the '70s and '80s in Brooklyn, East Flatbush. It was culturally diverse: You had Italian culture, American culture, the Caribbean West Indian culture, the Hasidic Jewish culture. Everything was kind of like right there in your face. A lot of violence, you know, especially toward the '80s the neighborhood got really violent, but it made me who I am, it made me strong.
My goal is to end mass incarceration and change the laws to stop locking up low-level, nonviolent drug charges. Stop charging drug addicts as criminals.
The arts saved my life.
I'm good with all my roles, I've never had a bad role.
Our criminal justice system has swallowed up too many people I love. I am proud to join the ACLU in the fight to make mass incarceration a thing of the past.
Doing something that warrants the attention of the President of the United States is super-cool.
My goal as an actor, as an up-and-coming actor in this business is to stay consistent with the work, you know, and if you do good work, and stay focused on the work, writers and directors will pay attention.
For me, my past characters been hard, the way they died, being murdered, the sadness that goes around, the death. It's a very hard thing to do.
There are worse things in life to be attached to then seven seasons of Hap and Leonard: Mucho Mojo. It's in Atlanta, and we shoot during the fourth quarter of the year, so the weather is great. It's good Christmas money. I'm telling good stories with someone who I admire. Life could be worse. It could be a whole lot worse, at this stage in the game.
My dream role is to portray someone like James Baldwin. I've always been a fan of his writing, and I feel like he's one of our unsung heroes. He's been pretty much forgotten, and I think he needs to be recognized. He had to go all the way to Europe to find recognition and acceptance, and I'd just like to bring him to the forefront.
You know, Tupac is very near and dear to my heart. He started my career as an actor.
I had a very dear friend of mine, ton of potential, and he fell ill with bipolar disorder. And he was put in the penal system. And that was just adding fuel to the fire. He got worse. He came out and he's never been the same since. He can't seem to get his life back. And this is a man who could have had Hollywood in the palm of his hand. A lot of my inspiration and aspirations for wanting to be an actor, I owe to him. Between the disorder and him being put in jail, it just snuffed all of that away from him.
You have to put your character to rest after x amount of years.
My main goal, starting out as a young actor, was to carry the reins that Pac left off and to reach the depths as an actor that I know he would have reached had he still been here with us.
Ending a television character that you've been, especially someone like Omar Little, it hurts. For me, it's a huge thing. You feel like a part of you is gone.
I have a very healthy appetite for good writing and good characters. Having weak writing is my biggest fear.
I absolutely miss dancing. Don't want to do it for a living, I'm getting old, I can't move like I used to. If I had the opportunity to do something on Broadway or a musical, I would jump at the opportunity.
I don't consider myself a person of fashion because it's too sophisticated. My thing is I look at style like swagger. I like things that pull me, that I gravitate to.
I don't dabble in politics too much. I'm really ignorant to the world of politics. I'm not that smart, I'm not that cunning, it's just too much smoke and mirrors for me. I just don't want to play that game.
My thing is to gain the respect as an actor, as a professional, and the friendship and everything else will happen from there.
I don't believe in typecasting. Just because all my characters may come from the other side of the tracks doesn't mean they are all the same. You don't stereotype people and generalize people, everyone's different.
For me, the best experience is to get to watch all of these different actors that come to the different seasons and bring these A-game performances. I'm just like, "Wow, can you do that again, so that I can take notes? How did you do that?!" That's the greatest joy, in doing a show like 'Hap and Leonard: Mucho Mojo'. I get to watch all of these thespians come rip it a new asshole.
Music is always a part of my characters' make-up.
