The perception of Africa, whether in the U.S. or in Europe, is of a continent that needs help, and cannot pull itself up. That is just not true.

I was sometimes called 'coconut' when I was at school.

One of the things I have an allergic reaction to playing, especially as a black actor, is the mandatory kind of best friend/cop/detective type. You will never see me in that movie.

You can’t have people curating culture in this way when we need to see things in order to reform from them.

If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or a few videos on Youtube, and you're good.

I don't have a tailor, but I do love clothes.

Excellence is the best weapon against prejudice.

Find the audience, be excellent, and you will be fine.

I truly believe that one of the things that has been lacking in the USA is a spirit of repentance about the injustices of slavery and the injustices of segregation and racism generally.

We can't afford to deny our past in a bid to be empowered. But what we can do is contextualize the past.

Considering that I'm British and I talk the way I do, I love it when a director takes a chance on me.

Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.

When facts give way to faith, then and only then do you unlock the possibilities within.

Sometimes the only way to make palatable that which is appalling and apprehensive is to season it with some humor.

...He is sure that the Bailey he is now is closer to the Bailey he is supposed to be than the Bailey he had been before

The question shouldn't be “Why are you, a Christian, here in a death camp, condemned for trying to save Jews?' The real question is “Why aren't all the Christians here?

Music, to me, if it's good, it's good. That's all that matters.

Of course now we know that couldn't be further from the truth, that the subjects that keep young people's options open and unlock doors to all sorts of careers are the Stem subjects.

What really happened was one day I decided to write a new kind of play.

You know, freedom is a very popular idea, and young people love it, and they're open to ideas. And they like principled answers to our problems.

Everyone has their own Everest to climb