Dennis Haysbert Quotes
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On my wall, along with my favorite football players and baseball players, I had Marlon Brando and Sir Laurence Olivier. These were childhood idols.
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I played a little basketball, but basketball interfered with theater season. That's when we did our term plays and did nutshell versions of Shakespeare for English classes. And, believe me, I got a fair amount of looks from the guys on the team. 'You're in theater but you can play football?'
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I think the first time 'white' was used was in the 1600s. Generally, we were described by where we came from... All of a sudden, this word 'white' came through, and now everyone is going for their own sense of power... to figure out who's on top.
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I took one thing to heart that I heard from Sidney Poitier in 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.' And it resonated so much with me. He says: 'Dad, you always looked at yourself as a black man. I look at myself as a man.'
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I grew up in Northern California, and theater is all there was. I didn't know how to go about starting a career when I was 10.
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I love romance films, especially between people of color, because we don't really explore that enough. I would love to do that.
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Dad worked as a security guard for United Airlines, and Mom was a housewife who cleaned houses to make ends meet.
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The bottom line is people are people, and the sooner we realise that, the better off things are going to be.
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I don't think it should matter to the American people what color skin is on their president. What should matter is the content of their character.
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All of the directors I work with have their own unique gifts.
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I have always thought of myself as an athlete - even at the ripe old age of 52.
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When you're playing a good character, you have an idea that you're playing the hero and the good guy. Actually, I think you're more stymied playing the good guy than you are the bad guy. As the bad guy, you have no inhibitions. Nothing stops you from doing what it is you feel you have to do. You do it because it's what's required.
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I went through a phase where all I was doing was commercials, and not that it was a bad thing, but I was referred to as 'the Allstate guy' as I was walking the streets. Someone comes up to you on the street, you would like them to know your name.
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I used to get really jealous of Ron Howard as Opie on 'The Andy Griffith Show' - we were the same age. I would just think, 'God, that little kid can work, and I can't!'
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I've studied theater since high school. Of course, it's a different story altogether being on Broadway, but it's still theater, and you have to be in front of a live audience, and that's very exciting. It's something I've definitely wanted to do, but I got involved in movies and television, and then it became a luxury to get back on the stage.
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The intolerance of people against other people is growing and growing. And the thing is, this is not anything that's changed. This has been going on for years.
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My father was Catholic, my mom Baptist, so we were raised Baptist but had a lot of Catholic upbringing: fish on Fridays, no birth control.
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All my brothers have my father's voice.
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Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.
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I really do believe that was what I was put on this planet to do: to give to people and, through my performances, show them another world - in the case of '24,' to show them what a politician, black or white, should be. Basically, I wanted to be a service to others.
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I knew I wanted to act since I was 10, but I didn't actually start acting until I was in high school. My favorite play was 'Lilies of the Field.'
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I've done a lot of different things in my life. I've parachuted, done some deep-sea diving. Inasmuch as it's safe to do, I can do it.
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I think I'd make a great superhero. I'm serious. I want to play a superhero, and I've already got one in mind. I think I've still got the body for the costume, and it's something I really want to do.
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I pride myself on being limber.