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What is a superhero? They're supposed to represent hope, opportunity, and strength for everybody.
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Every job you do, somebody's looking at it. You're leaving an impression on somebody. What is going to be your footprint?
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What you do does matter. And people do remember it and feel it.
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I came out of the womb drawing on everything; I used to draw on my mother's white furniture and her white walls with her red lipstick and my pencils. Little did she know that would later materialize into me doing what I do now - I'm a painter as well and a micromechanical engineer.
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A new setting is amazing cause it's new for the team, and it's new for our characters. It's a breakaway from the normal deal. You get so tired, locked into a show for so many years. You get used to doing the same thing. A little shake-up and change is good.
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For me personally, the way I've been trained, just through life experience - the harder something is, the harder you have to work for it, the more worthwhile it is, and you just have to know that going in.
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You don't ever want to seem less than a person.
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I remember, growing up as a kid, history class was very washed-over. They didn't really get into the gritty bits of slavery. It's a very, very small section in the history books. It's not something they really touch on directly with American curriculums.
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For some reason, I think that I'm not doing enough work. People are like, 'You're on a series right now,' but I'm always like, 'Yeah, but I can do more!'
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My approach is always the same. I try to be as honest as possible. Find the real honesty and humanity in the character because even a fictional character is supposed to feel real. And my job is to find that reality and bring it to the screen.
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I'm constantly looking for ways to learn and elevate your craft, patience for yourself, and patience for this business. It's not a fair business. You may be great, but it may take years for someone to notice what you're capable of because of politics.
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These superhero movies are starting to give more love to not only black characters but also to more female characters, which is necessary because you have boys and girls of all colors who are looking at these superheroes saying, 'I want to be that. I want to look like that. Show me somebody that I can automatically connect with.'
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My mom told us that we should have good shoes, a good suit, and a watch, so I was running around at age 10 looking like a little old man. But somehow I grew to understand that a watch is a representation of myself, of my culture, taste, awareness and aesthetic.
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I was in public school until third or fourth grade, and after that, I was homeschooled. I was homeschooled until I was 14, and then when I was 14, I began attending college. Mom was not playing about that education.
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You get into these executive offices, and people say, 'Oh, we have this project. Wait a minute, guys, we need diversity - let's choose a black actor for this; let's choose a Hispanic actor for this,' instead of saying, 'That's not diverse, that's just normal. That's what makes up America.'
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For someone like MC Ren, who is still alive and I can go talk to, that's more of a niche challenge because I do have to match his energy, and I do have to pay homage to who he is as a person, but that just comes with research. And the difference there is I can do the research there right on the spot. I can just go ask him.
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As far as my contribution to this industry, I want to be like Dean Devlin, John Rogers, and Chris Downey. I want to give people jobs and put them on great shows. I want to create careers for people.
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I've been a writer since I was 13. I've been writing scripts and having pitch meetings. So, when I do see people like Brit Marling getting things done, it lets me know that it's possible. It basically just tells me, 'Dude, get to work!' For some reason, I think that I'm not doing enough work.
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Surviving the elements is working, but being on set and having to do a scene and being in a room with the same people who you actually enjoy and respect, your day project was easy.
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I want to have a resume that is substantial enough to hold itself as respectful.
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We owe a lot when it comes to women in terms of innovation, in terms of education, in terms of progression in life.
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I hear all the time from our audience about how it's nice to see a positive African-American role model for the younger kids out there that are watching.
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I can literally count on one hand how many slave stories have gotten notoriety over the past few years.
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When you say 'diversity,' the term has been denigrated over the years because it has been used as a crutch.