Quotes from David Harewood

Before 'Homeland,' I had £80 in the bank and no idea what I was going to do. I seriously considered giving it all up and getting a job as a lorry driver.

I started reading DC stuff much later in my life. You realize that there's a huge difference between the Marvel universe and the DC universe and the characters that own it.

If you're black and have leukemia, the chances of finding a donor are drastically reduced. I added my name to the register, and lo and behold, six months later, I was asked to donate. I had a week of 'conditioning' where I had to take these pills and injections to create new stem cells in my body.

We live in a world of strange priorities, where Kim Kardashian buying a Lamborghini creates international headlines, but children in Niger suffering from drought and children in Britain suffering from leukaemia go unnoticed.

I love New York. New York is busy. It's dirty. It's smelly. I'm a real urban animal: I love cities. I like being in the middle of it all.

Working with Olivia Colman has probably been the highlight of my career so far.

Everybody can, you know, go online, read about something, and have an opinion about something.

Normally for work I will fly business class.

There are structural problems within the industry that are preventing us from displaying aspirational black roles.

You don't just win an Oscar because you're a great actor. You campaign for that Oscar: you engage with it; you go on the David Letterman show, and you do the interviews, and that's how you get out there.

The area where I grew up in Birmingham was very diverse - I was aware of my race but not overly aware of it - and there seemed to be an understanding that we were all very much in the same boat.

I'm very, very used to feeling anonymous, you know?

As an ambassador for the aid agency Cafod and the Anthony Nolan Trust, I need to be sure that my public support for those charities is a help for their work, not a hindrance.

Without a doubt, the majority of historical period dramas tend to be told from a certain perspective. At least in America, black people have some visibility in period dramas, although it's usually in the form of slaves or servitude.

I have always been reasonably anonymous, but I suppose that has gone with the success of 'Homeland.' I feel a lot more visible, which is good and bad. Good because I am getting recognition, but I am slightly apprehensive because I always enjoyed my anonymity.

On 'Supergirl,' there are huge characters with huge mythologies behind them. What's important is that you don't lock yourself into something.

Art is all about the experience. I could say I dont really relate to opera, but then you watch Placido Domingo, and you go, Blimey, look at that.

Fatherhood is a joy. I feel very lucky to have a family. It gives you a perspective on things.