Quotes from Esai Morales

Anytime you do something Latino, yeah, I love the color, the spice.

We hear a lot in this country about family, and 'American Family' just shows us a portrait we haven't seen as much of yet. 'American Family' lets us know that being American isn't about the color of your hair or eyes or skin: it's really a state of mind.

I went jogging up on Mulholland. In the middle of my run I had some form of asthma attack and couldn't even walk. I couldn't get a ride one block to my house. I thought I was going to die.

Well, actually yes, in 1988. There was a warrant for me because my assistant hadn't paid a ticket of mine.

In New York, just standing still on the sidewalk is a weird feeling. You have this incessant need to do things. Los Angeles is about kicking back, relaxing, your inner child, peace.

Being an American is a state of mind, and to be in a family is to feel the power of belonging, the power of your roots. Family is a tree, the strength of a tree, the roots, the leaves, the past and the present, the future, the fruits, the seeds.

I love shocking people.

How often do you get a movie where the coolest character has your own real last name? I played Bob Morales as a cross between my own father - the passion, the fury - and the real Bob Morales. I loved that movie. People, kids always come up to me and tell me how much they still love 'La Bamba.'

I remember doing 'La Bamba' and thinking, 'Do you really think that Latinos will be accepted in mainstream?' and I said, 'Someday I hope so, but there is no guarantee.'

I don't want to be the 'spice' added to a show. I'm not a condiment!

I'll never lose the sense of being an underdog.

I believe if people understood each other more, if people took the time and realize it's not 'all about me' and I'm on a big planet with a lot of other people and concerns, maybe we can learn how to get along with each other.

All I would say to people who doubt 'Caprica' is: Everything good starts slow.

I think that racism has gotten more subtle, and it's not even racism anymore: it's placism. Like where you live or whether you went to community college or Harvard, and it exists within the race.

We understand 'Roots,' and that experience was mind-boggling, and it changed the way society viewed race relations. It was incredibly important. With 'Roots,' I was just as proud as anybody else that people of color were getting their stories told.