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I was maybe one of two black kids in the drama department. It was, 'Well, you can't play this role because that guy has a white girlfriend or a white cousin or whatever.'
Joe Morton -
I always feel like I'm running an hour and a half late.
Joe Morton
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I think, very often, we're addicted to procedurals, those good guy/bad guy shows, and the 'problem' with procedurals is they all follow the same formula: The bad guy does his thing, the good guy goes after him, and in most cases, the good guy figures out who did it and catches him.
Joe Morton -
Television has been really good to me in terms of the roles I've been able to get on TV as opposed to the roles I've gotten in film and in theater.
Joe Morton -
I think the thing is with a movie that has this much science fiction in it; you need characters who are more science fact, if you know what I mean, than they are human.
Joe Morton -
I think every villain basically thinks that he or she is doing something to make his world, or the world in general, a better place.
Joe Morton -
Dick Gregory used every syllable, every metaphor, every joke, every march, every incarceration, every hour of his life, to embarrass this country into providing a more perfect, perfect union.
Joe Morton -
Without mentioning any names, there was a film that was being done, and I ran into the producer on the plane. It was a book that I really, really loved, and I said, 'I'd love to be a part of this.' And they made it clear that that was not going to be possible - for no particular reason other than that there was just no part for a black person.
Joe Morton
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I think the greatest lesson that power has to teach us is, once you've had it, once you are a part of it, you're never free.
Joe Morton -
Perhaps, despite my objections, the success of films like: 'The Help,' 'Django,' 'The Butler,' or '12 Years a Slave,' will further persuade Hollywood to widen its view and edit its erroneous perception of what a commercial black film can look like.
Joe Morton -
The more you know about the world, the more resources you have in terms of things that can inform your character or the circumstances that surround your character.
Joe Morton -
Acting-wise, it's always exciting to come back for a third season of any TV show that you're working on.
Joe Morton -
The argument for '12 Years a Slave' was that - yes, it's a beautiful film. Beautifully shot, beautifully acted. It's a real story, and these stories should be told. The problem is, if they're the only stories being told, then it makes Americans of African descent - it puts them into that victim category. And that was my problem with the movie.
Joe Morton -
To work for Shonda Rhimes is heaven. It's been amazing.
Joe Morton
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Everyone does what they believe they need to do in order to survive in this business, 'survive' being the operative word.
Joe Morton -
'12 Years A Slave' is a film that is beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and told in a compelling manner. However, there are some questions, in my opinion, as to its importance. Paramount among those questions is, What does this scenario illustrate that we didn't know or haven't seen before? And why does such a film garner such popularity?
Joe Morton -
I make it a habit of never trying to judge what an audience might think, only because all points of view are too close, because we're doing it every day, I think that the actor's point of view is sometimes too close to what the material actually is.
Joe Morton -
Race prejudice has nothing to do with color. It has to do with being the stranger.
Joe Morton -
My tendency is to be quiet and to stay focused and in character. Not the entire time, but certainly to stay focused while I'm on set.
Joe Morton -
I don't watch a lot of television, which sounds strange for someone who works in TV.
Joe Morton