We are all a tiger with feelings. An elephant who never forgets. We are tiger, panther, monkey - we are all of these things, all of the life rhythms.
Black filmmakers - I'm grateful for them.
I have always been against the gangster as hero.
I think all human beings have a godlike, divine power, only most of us don't tap into it.
I don't know who I would be if I weren't this child from Harlem, this woman from Harlem. It's in me so deep.
I do remember the numbers runners, I do remember the poverty and bread lines. Harlem stays with you forever.
I don't think the arts would have been as meaningful to me if I hadn't grown up in Harlem.
You hear people say, 'We take our Tennessee Williams very seriously. There is no laughter here.' It's full of humor! Not to laugh is a big, bad mistake!
My experience for myself as a performer is not one of high expectations.
One reason I didn't trust my writing for so long was that I always considered myself a serious dramatic actor. But people would always laugh when I shared my writing with them. It took my husband to help me see that I really am part humorist.
Racism is a very insidious thing. It's dangerous to the psyche, to mind and body. It erodes the self-confidence. And I don't know how we get through it.
An Oscar nomination? That would be a very satisfying thing, I'm sure. I would appreciate the thought. It would be like taking your hat off as an actor to all the people who walk through you.
God has use for all the old people.
My constant battle is putting aside time wasters, and I have to watch out for procrastination. Staying on the path of something you're trying to create has much to do with having confidence in yourself and in your capacity to realize the things you want out of life.
Well, I didn't grow up with that word 'retirement' as part of my consciousness. I didn't grow up with professionals that retired. I thought retiring was when you are tired and go to bed.
I'd come from a background in New York of picketing and protesting.
Before I latched onto the concept of stereotypes, not once did I reckon with the fact that I would never be a 'Hollywood starlet.'
I really don't believe in retiring as long as you can breathe.
I respect the fact that a director has studied the text and the road map of work before us, the subtleties, interconnections, underpinnings... His job is to paint the entire picture and knows all the colors that have to be in it.
OK, boss, I don't mind shuffling, but I won't scratch my head.
