Acting is the art of being and existing, and not being fake.
I really had a problem with being 'the man.' I'm past it now, but that was my insecurity. I ran from that. I was cool with being No. 3 on the call sheet or No. 2.
I grew up in Decatur, Georgia. We had three boys in the household; actually, it felt like four of us. My pops sort of raised my uncle, too. So, it was four boys and, later, a younger sister.
The reality is our story and the way we love and our taste in clothing and everything else. And what we ambitiously feel we can be.
As an African-American male born with a couple of strikes against you because of your skin color, I think it's very, very important to have some positive role models around, especially male influences.
I'm always like, 'Well, let's not rest on a critical acclaim or on a incredible review or on a great reception.'
'Power' is a funny thing. Maybe it's a show that draws people in because they are watching people do things they secretly wish they could do or know they could get away with.
Spike Lee gave me the greatest reaction to the fact that I was this athlete-meets-artist, because I think he saw that I was different. I learned that oftentimes, Spike directs in a sense that he might just stare at you and look at you in a telepathic way of communicating.
That's the thing with me being a former athlete: in the way I attack characters and attack poetry is from the base of being an athlete.
I was definitely a Daddy's boy.
I think actors make for very good directors, and I would like to do that one day.
I've definitely had my moments in relationships where I've been able to say yes, I have been heartbroken, my heart has been broken.