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I have to show off my struggle so that people accept that I'm black. No matter that every single room I go to, I'm usually the darkest person there... I kind of resent that mentality. I'm just an individual.
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I am definitely not a household face, and I don't expect to be one.
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I resent that I have to prove that I'm black.
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I think the 'sunken place' - that term is what I hear when I'm just casually living my life. People say it around me. Not because they're around me; they're saying it because it articulated a state of mind. Lil Wayne's rapped about it.
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Racism is like a horror movie. Black kids die because of racism. I don't know what's more horrifying than that.
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I know what it means to be stopped by police. I've been stopped by police a lot.
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When work ends, I'd rather just be seen as Daniel - normal.
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I did a play, back in the day, called 'Sucker Punch,' and it meant so much for me. I was 21. And I went, 'I just want to do work like that.' Stuff I believe in. And when I have compromised, I've never really felt good about it.
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Writing can be really lonely, and I find that bit difficult. I'd rather be around my people, getting ideas.
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Sometimes I'll work in America, sometimes I'll work in England. What's important is fulfilment. I just want to tell stories.
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Some black women hug me and walk away. A lot of black men talk about dating white women and how they've been there, too. People open up about their racial experiences. I feel like I'm a walking therapy session. It's quite intense. But it means a lot to people.
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Nas is such a touchstone in my world.
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I think the traditional stereotypes are loaded in institutional racism.
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Everything men do is for women.
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I learned so much on 'Sicario' and working with that group of actors, where there was the audacity, the confidence, to do nothing.
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'The Fades' is its own world. If you try and link it to some religion, you have people going, 'Oh, that's not right,' with their Bible open. Let's just chuck some imagination at it.
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What you want to do is make people talk, start a conversation.
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Having something that makes money changes everything. I'm from England, and it's very much about credibility there. And yeah, it is about that. But the money can change things. And so you understand it's a business.
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I go to Uganda, I can't speak the language. In India, I'm black. In the black community, I'm dark-skinned. In America, I'm British.
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Big up Samuel L. Jackson, because here's a guy who has broken down doors.
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Loads of stuff that I've done has always had a hint of comedy. I did this show called 'Psychoville' that's a horror-comedy. Because I just think that's what life's like.
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Being young, working class, and black, everything you do is policed. If someone hits you and you hit back, you are aggressive. If you cry, you are weak. You are kind of always pretending to be something.
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I love comedy. I don't think there's enough comedy on stage.
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Life ain't a drama. And life isn't just a comedy. Life is sometimes horrifying. Life is science-fiction. There are all elements and faculties that we navigate, so I just expect a script to reflect that. As long as it's truthful. I think genre-bending is just being honest.