Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was able to bring out the very best in me. He gave me credit for my intelligence.

Nothing can beat the smell of dew and flowers and the odor that comes out of the earth when the sun goes down.

I wanted to be with the kind of people I'd grown up with, but you can't go back to them and be one of them again, no matter how hard you try.

The white audiences thought I was white, my features being what they are, and at every performance I'd have to take off my gloves to prove I was a spade.

I have been pretty happy with how I look but if I have a hectic week with family or work life, that has got to be my priority and the gym takes a back seat. Then a couple of weeks turn into a couple of months and before you know it you feel like you've got the ‘dad bod.'"

Being mixed in the South, that's a struggle that everybody deals with differently. Some people go careening to one side or the other, and some people try to walk a tightrope between the two. I grew up spending equal time with both sides of my family.

I think if you're young and you're being compared with a successful family member, it's really hard to maintain any sense of self-worth and credibility.

My kids are so much better parent than I was.