When I was growing up, I was really into comedy. I listened to a lot of comedy albums. I loved Richard Pryor, but the comic that had the most impact on me was always my brother Chris, who was in the next room. It was tangible. If Chris could make it, I could try.

My pops, the whole time while I was growing up, was conscious of what we ate. He made sure we exercised and had time outside. He knew having a healthy lifestyle meant exercise.

When I was growing up with Chris, I was the little brother that was kind of annoying: 'Can I come?' 'Get out of here.' 'Can I play?' 'Get out of here.' So that's our relationship. I just do my own thing. I leave him alone.

People say an Oscar validates your career. No, it doesn't. There's more good actors without Oscars than there are with Oscars.

Gaining my education from practical experience certainly benefited me. If I had gone on to be a lawyer, my life wouldn't have been anywhere near as interesting.

Married life is an existence with bars around it.

The finest lesson I've learned with age is that all I need is a small team of comrades who inspire me, try not to judge me, and remind me when I'm judging myself.

We must have a theme, a goal, a purpose in our lives. If you don't know where you're aiming, you don't have a goal. My goal is to live my life in such a way that when I die, someone can say, she cared.