I was born in Oakland and grew up, probably about five miles from Oakland, in Hayward. And Hayward was OK. Like, Hayward wasn't - very much a working….

[My grandmother] was the assistant pastor at Palma Ceia Baptist Church in Hayward - my grandmother, Evie Goines. And so my mother was doing - I remem….

I've personally been on the outside sometimes. But I was - I personally was never persecuted especially in the way in which sharing my own experience….

This is 2003, 2004. And then I started - after the Patriot Act, I would always get my financial packages in the mail and they would just be opened. A….

I grew up in church. My mom's a minister, and my grandmother was an ordained minister. I was always very mindful of the presence of a greater being I….

When it finally came my way and doors opened up for me to do it and to be on stage, it felt like a natural thing to try out. And it just so happened ….

In my time at St. Mary's College, drifting out of sports because it was something that began to feel really finite. And I could see that I didn't hav….

What inspires me today is a desire to get closer to an understanding of what my artistic capacities are with the hope of organically sharing my gifts….

At the end of the day we're all spirits having a physical experience..

My father had a lot to do with me thinking about acting, though he never saw me act. He passed away probably - he passed away as I was doing my first….

It felt, like, so far from - or far enough from the reality of things that we can enjoy it purely as entertainment. And now it feels a little bit too….

I became more curious about the story behind the story [in the House of Cards]. So what was really going on behind the headline? And it's a little bi….

I was fortunately able to avoid getting into any trouble with police. There was - I remember I was 12, and I did something really (laughter) - a coup….

I got into [acting] so late because of sports. And then when I was in grad school, I sort of got lulled into basically forgetting I was black, in - m….

Hold tight to the mentality of being a student, meaning hold on to curiosity and approach life as a student..

Again, having - fortunately having never been in trouble. And eventually I found out that I was on a watch list..

When we kind of get caught up in the minutiae, the details that make us all different, I think there's two ways of seeing that. There's an opportunit….

I always hope to be a better person tomorrow than today..

Because on that watch list, they would be like, yeah, your name - they told me like, yeah, your name matches the name of a terrorist or someone that ….

The freedom that I wanted as a kid would - probably would not have been good for me and not in the way in which I wanted it..

I remember after 9/11, I started - I was working quite a bit in Vancouver. And then I realized I would go to catch my flight, and it would take me li….