african american quotes

Getting a standing ovation was kind of humbling that so many people are so happy that I have been named for this award. A lot of people say you're due - maybe you are, maybe you aren't - it's an accolade.

I don't get off on romantic parts. But I often think if I had had my dental work done early on, well, maybe.

I knew at an early age I wanted to act. Acting was always easy for me. I don't believe in predestination, but I do believe that once you get where ever it is you are going, that is where you were going to be.

[On a double win for black actors:]It means that Hollywood is continuing to make history. We're evolving with the rest of the world.

I always tell my kids if you lay down, people will step over you. But if you keep scrambling, if you keep going, someone will always, always give you a hand. Always. But you gotta keep dancing, you gotta keep your feet moving.

[On Clint Eastwood, best director:] If he hires you, he hires you because he feels like you know what to do. And he's very, very largely out of the way. He directs the picture, you do the acting. I love that, and I think that most of the people that he works with love that.

You whine like a mule.

In my country, we talk to our women, not drug them with plants.

I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend.