Having been born and raised in Washington, D.C., you kind of absorb politics when you grow up. And it continues to be a focus of mine, probably more than what is healthy for me.

I like New York because you're kind of forced to smell everybody else's funk. So it keeps you biologically attached to the world around you.

When you go to a restaurant, the less you know about what happens in the kitchen, the more you enjoy your meal.

I like to do theater and hopefully be effective. Most actors, at least contemporary actors of my generation, can't do it. They don't have the chops.

I think I was afraid of what I might say when I got onto someone's stage or in front of someone's camera.

Shaft was a pop culture figure along t he lines of, I guess, Dirty Harry - except that he wasn't as much of a racist. So yeah, I was always a fan.

The reason why things work is because of love.

Well, I like to be kept on my toes. I look for a challenge. I don't like to recreate steps that I've already walked. I like to see if I can create something new.

As much as we teach our kids, the process teaches us. If we're being diligent, we're learning from our strengths as parents, but also from the mistakes that we make.

New York is the greatest character actor ever. Any film that is shot in New York is elevated by the city.

You're a master on blues piano. The real deal.

He kissed her lustfully. Mindlessly.Senselessly.

If it's torture flying one airline and [yours] is a pleasant experience, it certainly helps your revenue.

Genre is a minimum security prison.

Acting just happens to be my skill, but I think I would probably be just as happy being a technician or entering into the film business in some other way.

The power of quotation is as dreadful a weapon as any which the human intellect can forge.

There is no record in the Bible of a weak man falling.

Ed?" Ritchie says later. We're still standing in the water. "There's only one thing I want." "What's that, Ritchie?" His answer is simple. "To want.

Two things have always been true about human beings. One, the world is always getting better. Two, the people living at that time think it's getting worse.

How weightless/ words are when nothing will do.

A person may come into full harmony with the formless substance by entertaining a lively and sincere gratitude for the blessings it bestows upon him.