I imagine it was much different in the 1970s. That was the Renaissance for black actors, albeit in blaxploitation movies. There was a much greater preponderance of work then than there is now.
Many of my friends and family are scratching it out somewhere decidedly south of the ever widening gap between the haves and have nots, looking at losing their homes, colleges they can't afford and healthcare they can't avail themselves of.
President Obama inherited a broken country mired in two wars, a financial crisis, a mortgage mess and more than we all probably even know about and has in my opinion brought us back from the brink. But I still see my friends in no better shape and the gap widening.
The process changes slightly from role to role. Obviously, there are different things you're called on to do. You're not digging deep for Basher Tarr like I was for Paul Rusesabagina, but at the end of the day it's still all make-believe and you still are trying as realistically as you can to depict these characters.
People have always been obsessed by celebrities. There are just more outlets and opportunities to make a living exploiting that obsession nowadays.
I understand what's it like to work all week and on Friday night just want to go and leave your brain at the door, buy some popcorn and be thrilled by something.
I've been doing this since I was 10 years old, inhabiting different people and playing different roles.
But I think it's intoxicating when somebody is so unapologetically who they are.
So often when Black men have to play roles on TV, we're either the noble savage or we're completely a savage, and there's no nuance.
I've never been a part of a film before that offers such a platform into real issues, that raises social awareness and has the potential to change things.
I used to record but just in my own studio or in my friend's back when I toyed with the idea of being a rapper.
We're always trailing, as far as the amount of roles that are written for us and the films that are being made that have black characters in them. I don't know if that's going to change.
