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Quotes
Acting's like someone asking you for years
to write the characters, but they write the book.
A film is just like a
muffin. You make it. You put it on the table. One person might say,
"Oh, I don't like it." One might say it's the best muffin ever
made. One might say it's an awful muffin. It's hard for me to say. It's
for me to make the muffin.
I made a commitment to
completely cut out drinking and anything that might hamper me from
getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of goodness have
opened upon me - spiritually and financially.
For whatever reason, God
has blessed me with the ability, put me in a position to make these
leaps and bounds. I'm fulfilling my part of the bargain, which is to
give back and be a positive influence on others.
My mother never gave up
one me. I messed up in school so much they were sending me home, but my
mother sent me right back.
Luck is where opportunity
meets preparation.
I'm very proud to be
black, but black is not all I am. That's my cultural historical
background, my genetic makeup, but it's not all of who I am nor is it
the basis from which I answer every question.
I like talking. I like
acting. Running and jumping and ducking bullets is not my idea of a good
day.
Acting is just a way of
making a living, the family is life.
I
made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might
hamper me from getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of
goodness have opened upon me - spiritually and financially.
I'm very proud to be black, but black is not
all I am. That's my cultural historical background, my genetic makeup,
but it's not all of who I am nor is it the basis from which I answer
every question.
[on where he likes to keep his Oscars] Next
to each other.
I have a friend who says 'the first 50 was
for them, this 50's for me'. I like that. The weirdest part of it, or
even the saddest part, is that you start to see people die. You go 'Man!
He wasn't even that old'. I lost a friend recently who died of a heart
attack. He was 58. When I was 20, 58 was old. It ain't now. - on
approaching 50
That ain't fair, really. Michelle Pfeiffer
hasn't been finding a lot of work recently because she doesn't like what
a woman her age is offered. That's a real double standard. You get Sean
Connery, who gets older and older, still playing opposite young ladies,
but it doesn't work the other way around. - on working with young female
co-stars
I have to try and find a way to remain
positive because those days are boring to me, really, just hanging off
the side of a building, fighting or grunting. - on shooting action
scenes
People say 'congratulations, you finally got
the Oscar', and I have to correct them: 'actually, it's my second one. I
won for Glory in 1989.' Some people say 'Yeah, but that was for a
supporting actor role' but for me, it's the same thing.
Probably Shakespeare. I did Othello in
college, and Richard III, and those are the two roles I'd like to
revisit. Movies? There's a couple I wish I hadn't done. I won't say
which ones, but there are a couple of mistakes there. - on what roles
he'd like to redo
I was a mess. I don't know if I ate bad food
or if it was too much tension, but I got sick. There was a huge traffic
jam, and I remember saying 'Look, it took me all this time to get here -
I'm showing up in a limousine and I don't care how late I am.' By the
time I got there, there was no red carpet. Everyone was inside because
the show had already started. - on being late for the 1987 Oscars
I root for the Knicks. I root for the
Yankees. (when asked which does call home, L.A. or New York).
The only way I'm going to L.A. is with a
job. (when asked what prompted him to go to Hollywood).
I remain thankful for the gifts that I've
been given and I try to use them in a good way, in a positive way. |
