Of course I've felt racism.

My father taught me how to hunt.

A lot of NFL guys are misunderstood.

A Ryan Coogler film? I'm there for it.

I went to a historically black college.

I've gotten rejected hundreds of times.

In college, I had an alias: I was Johnny.

I'm from the old school; hard work pays off.

It's a beautiful thing when you serve the team.

Football was the best route to obtain my independence.

Football players are creative when they're in the moment.

Spike Lee really gave us a platform, men and women of color.

Hate has a language, so we have to find a language to combat that.

I went to private school, but I've got family from North Carolina.

I got a lot of whoopings back in the day. I was a very curious kid.

I can only control what I can, which is what I'm able to do as an artist.

Reinaldo Marcus Green - I'm so blessed an honored to have worked with him.

I went to bar mitzvahs as a kid. I had a lot of classmates who are Jewish.

I felt a little anxious/nervous representing a real person in a Spike Lee film.

Spike Lee's been doing it for a long time now. We're all standing on his shoulders.

I got introduced to Shakespeare at four years old, and I fell in love with the language.

Whenever you're feeling moments of discomfort, that means true change is happening for you.

I want to be around people that are just as enthusiastic about the process and storytelling as I am.

I had family in Carolina who were very hood and talked differently in this sort of Southern cadence.

There's men and women out there protecting and serving, doing it the right way, that aren't talked about.

Spike Lee is a master of tone, so basically, if he wants to do something, he should do it, and Imma listen.

The nature of a football team means you're relying on 10 other guys. Even then, that doesn't guarantee a win.

Movies are magical. It transcends a lot of hate or human faults in real life because of the fantasy of it all.

I'll never forget watching my dad perform in a Shakespeare in the Park production of 'Richard III' in New York.

If I can inspire one person to actually administer change, to want to inspire change, I will follow that person.

They were very supportive parents in all my endeavors. They have very different approaches on how they give advice.

On a Spike Lee set, everybody seems to want to be there and is motivated to work in unison and do the best they can.

It's a thankless job for police officers, period, but specifically for men and women of color protecting and serving.

There are a lot of Washingtons that have played football. I could just blend in more and carve out my own name quietly.

Ask me trivia on 'Sex and the City,' and I will know it. I rewatch it every year. Samantha? Charlotte? Those are my girls.

I knew every one of my father's lines in 'Glory' - I broke the VHS tape - but I hid my love of acting to make it as my own man.

In football, I learned about trust, handling failure, embracing discomfort, and rejection, which has helped with the auditions.

I would tell people my dad was all the characters he's played in movies, because once you say he's a lawyer or something, they move on.

Like acting, undercover detective work requires a lot of performance. There's just more pressure because it's life-or-death situations.

Coming from a football background, when everybody is doing their job and operating on such a high level, it only motivates you to do the same.

I hope people will see how harmful words are and how irresponsible we can be when saying the wrong things at the wrong time to certain people.

I was ignorant before I did my research of a lot of African American police officers out there who are doing their job and doing it the right way.

I'm connected to a Wesley Snipes, and I'm connected to Giancarlo Esposito because of the history of films that we've all been a part of with Spike Lee.

I have to keep making films, getting better in my craft, and the way to do that is to work with people who know what they're doing and who can help me.

Every time I was off school, I was in Carolina with my cousins. So it was a big influence on me. I actually experienced straight-up racism out there, too.

Make America great - to me... it's inclusion. Everybody in America, let's do it together, no matter what color you are. You're American. Let's figure it out.

This is a privilege, what we get to do. To be able to tell stories. It's a luxury. So I have a business-like approach to it, the same way I had with football.

My mother is very positive and encouraging and nurturing, as a mother should be. She's my auditioning partner. She says when it's not good enough; she says when I'm ready.

I've been reluctant in doing press stuff - even my Instagram isn't properly managed; I manage it myself. It's kind of by design. I knew that would be what people see first.

So many people - DPs, writers, and the assistants that go on to be directors and writers - come from the School of Spike Lee. He's almost set up an Institution of Spike Lee.

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