Quotes from Lennie James

All the great shows owe a lot to 'Hill Street Blues.'

When I'm playing an American, I don't play Lennie with an American accent. They're American characters who look like me, but they have different voices.

I'm not setting 'Jericho' up to be anything other than what it is, which is, you know, a piece of good, well thought-out, well put-together TV and entertainment.

I will say that when I first came out to the States to work on 'Jericho,' that was the only time that I've ever been frightened about a job, because in America they tell stories over such a long time, and I was petrified that I'd get bored.

'The State Within' demands a certain intelligence from its audience. It doesn't just wash over you - it asks for commitment. And that's a really good thing.

In the kids' home I was in, there was very little change of staff. People stuck around, and they stuck around because they were being paid enough to stay there and raise their families. If you're not supporting the people looking after the kids, you're not supporting the kids, and you might as well chuck them all in the bin.

I went to an all boys' school in South London and the only god was sport.

I'm part of that generation that grew up watching TV, and being an actor was all about being on TV or being in films.

I'm not a broad comic, but I think I can be funny and I think I make people laugh.

I'm pretty much a London boy, and it was a big enough city to try and conquer.

I'd really like to go Sydney. I've been to Australia a few times, but I have never been there.

I particular enjoy the crime writer, Walter Ellis Mosley. He does a series of Chandler-esque detective stories.

There was a point when I thought I would primarily be a writer, but the acting seems to have got in the way. So when I do get a chance, I jump at it.

Doors being closed or made harder to open is something I'm very familiar with - and I don't like it.

The breadth of work that's possible is wider and deeper for someone who looks like me in the States than it is in the U.K.

If you look in real life, it is very hard to describe people as good people, bad people, heroes or villains. People aren't bad people. They all have their justifications.

My foster mother wanted to create a family home. For me, she had made a place that I felt I could always go back to, and that was what she was trying to do for these kids.

I don't usually like talking about acting or what my process is, and all those kinds of things, because I don't necessarily think it's helpful to talk about how I do my job.

I was focused on either being a social worker or physiotherapist. That was the direction I was going until I met a girl who wanted to be an actress, and I wanted to be close to the girl, so I followed her into an audition.

I did a film once in the Sahara. It was pretty awe-inspiring. I remember sitting up on the roof of our hotel, watching the sun go down, and all around me, for 360 degrees, was nothing but sand. It took your breath away but also made you feel tiny.

I've worked in the theater, television, and films. A five-hour TV series is certainly more time than a character I'd be playing in a film.

My favorite television show of all time is 'Hill Street Blues.' I think it's the show that is to television what Pele was to football or Muhammad Ali was to boxing.

I like to come home regularly and, when I do, I need something to do on Saturdays. I can't think of anything better than the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

I love writing but don't get a huge amount of time to do it.