Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
It's very rare that Black actors get an opportunity to do period pieces and to have a breadth of characters to choose from in their work.
Even when I did 'New York Undercover' I put together a five-year marketing and promotional campaign to maximize the exposure of that show.
I've played lots of law enforcement agents, and I do have friends that are in the bureau, in the DEA, and who are detectives and captains.
My mother ran away from my father after 16 years of being married to him. She was 16 when she hooked up with him. She left him after having six kids.
People think acting is just memorizing lines and doing facial expressions. No it's about traveling along a path of discovery, intention and connection.
I'm happy with getting older and getting more focused. I thought I was focused when I was young, but you're only as focused as experience will allow you to be.
If you go back and look at the pilot of 'Seinfeld,' no one would have thought that show would be what it became, and television isn't given that kind of chance anymore.
A lot of times people are caught between doing the things they have to do versus following their passion and I'm someone who, at a very young age chose to be of service.
Most people haven't figured out when you are of service to other people outside of just yourself, the doorway for opportunity and blessings come in a very very different way.
I never like to be the person trying to hard sell, saying, "This is why you should watch it." I know that my fans, who have followed me for years, want to know what I'm doing.
Directing is kind of like acting through other people. You see moments and you see things and if you don't see the actors hit it, you paint in those little spaces and tell them what direction to go in.
Film and television, one is generally faster. Television generally moves faster in terms of directing, schedules and getting things done. Film, you're on a pretty tight schedule, so the process is the dame.
I knew that I wanted to create a restaurant like Hard Rock Cafe or Planet Hollywood that celebrated not just music or Hollywood, but who we were as people of color, as Caribbean, African, Cajun and Southern people.
Almost every single person that I've worked with - whether it's been George Clooney or Robert DeNiro or Harvey Keitel, or whoever - the quality that I find that's most consistent in most of the people is the humility.
A lot of the shows I have done, I'm often the only black guy and I have often had to play second or third fiddle. It isn't necessarily a bad thing if it is a strong ensemble cast. But I feel people have overlooked my abilities.
The world is changing and how we reach people has changed. It's no longer throwing ads on your network and putting up billboards. It's now social media and things move virally, and the networks haven't always caught up to that.
The issues that black men face oftentimes are the issues that everyone faces. Do you have the ability to be present? Are you working on yourself? Do you understand what it means to be a man? To be responsible, loving, vulnerable?
Being raised Muslim, we had to get up at the crack of dawn to pray. There was no sleeping in, no getting up Saturday morning to watch cartoons because there was no TV in the house. But you got up and you worked, cleaned the house.
A lot of times, we don't seek the help. If you come from a family where you might have been abused, a lot of times, particularly with males, regardless of what the ethnic background is there's a sense of like 'Just keep it moving.'
In my experience on 'New York Undercover,' where I played a dad, I was 26 years old, and I didn't have kids then. And at that time, it would blow me away that people said they became a better parent because of watching my role on that TV show.
Because I've always aspired to direct and produce, I've literally worked with about 200 directors and countless producers, so what I appreciate is how, through osmosis and through actually asking questions and through people offering wisdom, there's a lot in there.
I like working with great talent, in every capacity. I have a rule of thumb, in any creative endeavor - whether I'm doing music and playing in a band, or working with producers, or directing - where I generally like to work with people who are smarter than me or better than me.
I used to walk in the burnt up Harlem of the '80s, and I'd look at brownstones that were dilapidated or apartment buildings, thinking 'Whoever designed this and built this did not want it to look like this.' So, I used to visualize one day being able to contribute and build in Harlem.
Don't think because I'm a positive dude, I'm going to always say something nice. If you come at me crooked, one too many times or if too many people came at me crooked too many times in a row, then they're going to get it. I don't always exercise that self control and I don't regret it either.
It took me until my 40s to realize the five essential areas that are important to at least have a real dating chance. Obviously, beyond the physical compatibility, which is where we all start in junior high school, I think that intellectual compatibility and spiritual compatibility, emotional intelligence, and financial compatibility are important.
Drs. Pinkett and Robinson choose to BE the message that they bring! They don't just enumerate the problems but offer solid solutions for navigating pathways to business ownership, and the halls and boardrooms of previously 'all white' corporate America. Black Faces in White Places is a necessary tool for anyone trying to make their own magic happen.
I think any time you have any kind of social ill, not just domestic violence...as much as it's about the act, the obvious theme of domestic violence, Domestic Violence Awareness Month is also about how men deal with their emotions. It's not just like who gets brutalized; sometimes it's women that are abusing men, too. I think it's just an opportunity for us to look at ourselves. How do we treat each other? Why do we treat each other that way?