As a young man, even if I was going to see a play or a film by myself, I didn't feel like I was alone. There was something that was unfolding up there that brought me into it. And I recognised that. For those two hours, it made me feel like I belonged to something really good.
I don't carry myself as a black person but as a woman that belongs to everybody. After all, it's the general public that made me - not any one particular group. So I don't think of myself as belonging to any particular group and never have.
I never got into training to be an All-Ireland boxing champ or to win a belt. At the start, I just got into it to learn how to defend myself when I got into situations.
The last two times I went to spring training, I had to win a job, and if I didn't get off to a blazing start, I'm on the bench. Now, I've proven myself, so it's not essential that I get off to a real good start.
If some actress thinks she is sexy and she can dance, it's her choice. I do what I want to do, and I set my own benchmark. I will never compare myself with anyone.
I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars.
Writing is a necessary thing for me, just to keep myself level. It has beneficial effects on my life.
Why is it so unutterably beneficial, the thought that someone besides myself knows me?
I profess myself a citizen of the world, totally unfettered by the little, mean distinctions of climate or of country, which diminish the benevolence of the heart and set bounds to philanthropy.
It is in fact agreed that I am the plague, the cholera of the benevolent and generous men who are interested in art and that, when I show myself with my plasters, even the Emperor of the Sahara would flee.
I speak English. I grew up speaking Bengali. This is the normal, the known, the obvious composition of who I am. Then there's Italian, this strange, other component of me that I've just created. It was a creative process just to learn the language, never mind to start expressing myself in it.
I have been to Libya and walked the streets of Benghazi myself.
One day, I saw a statue of Benjamin Franklin, and I said to myself, 'I can do that kind of work, too.'
I'm so proud of myself. I thought, 'I've got to learn about American history.' I literally took two months off and watched every documentary known to man. I really didn't know Benjamin Franklin was so cool.
I myself have already spent a third of my life in Germany, first in Cologne and then, since 1994, in Berlin.
I made 'Enemy' to prep myself for 'Prisoners.' I had the need to direct something smaller in English before going to Hollywood. That's the way I sold it to Warner because they asked me if I was berserk to make a movie right before.
Truth be told, actually, my favorite director of the Movie Brats was not Scorsese. Loved him. But my favorite director of the Movie Brats was Brian de Palma. I actually met De Palma right after I'd done 'Reservoir Dogs,' and I was very beside myself.
I don't think I threw myself into music because I had the best intentions; it was because I was really angry.
I appreciate all the kids who come up and enjoy my play at OU. But everybody giving me their opinions is where I draw the line. If it's someone who hasn't been there before, I really can't handle it. It's 'Slide more.' 'Don't take as many hits.' 'Get out of bounds.' I know they have my best interests at heart. I just have to remind myself of that.
For myself, it's trying to do my best in whatever I am doing. At this time, it is boxing; then when I get home, I want to be the best father, the best husband, the best man I can be.
