The trailblazers are my role models in this industry: Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, and Billy Dee Williams. I keep their pictures in my trailer and try to measure to their standards every time I act.
Don’t get bogged down with all the details of how it’s going to come together. Just do the dishes. And watch the momentum build.
I was raised by my mom. My dad was always traveling, but she allowed me and encouraged me to be close to my dad. So I grew up with three parents: my mom, my dad and my stepmom. Ninety percent of the time I was with my mom, and 10 percent was with my dad.
I only get involved with roles that I find intriguing, in top quality productions regardless of the medium. I try not to focus on the format itself and concentrate instead, on finding roles that challenge and entertain me as an artist.
Politics doesn’t matter, policy does.
The actor that taught me the most was Bernie Mac. I did my first big budget studio film with he and Angela Bassett, ‘Mr. 3000’ for Disney. Bernie taught me by example what creates success is humility and hard work.
I was a surrogate for Obama; I helped fundraise. I’m still a supporter.
Every film by Will Smith, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, Ruby Dee, Don Cheadle will have great acting and carry good messages in the film. The films starring those actors are the films I tell young people to watch for good acting and to view for quality movies.
The books we read change over the years as new books come out and they change over the grades. Books we are reading in fifth and sixth grade now may have been seventh and eighth grade books in the past, or the other way around.
I’m still an athlete, I’m still a stockbroker, I’m still an actor. I think of it as more of an opening of new doors than an actual transition. I enjoy all of those things, which is why they remain a part of my life.
I came out of my professional athlete career with a 450 credit score, no money in the bank to show for it, but I had an Ivy League degree. So I put that Dartmouth degree to good use and got a job on Wall Street. I hated it but used the time to make connections and become financially literate.
I have my own dance and production companies, and acting is my creative outlet. It’s what I’m passionate about. I’ve actually created a lifestyle where I could act for free. I could get a job to pay the bills and act on the weekends to make me smile.
I work to take care of my family, not the other way around.