Quotes from John David Washington

I'll never forget watching my dad perform in a Shakespeare in the Park production of 'Richard III' in New York.

My mother is very positive and encouraging and nurturing, as a mother should be. She's my auditioning partner. She says when it's not good enough; she says when I'm ready.

It's a beautiful thing when you serve the team.

I got a scholarship, so I was getting my independence and not paying for school. And then here comes the NFL. 'Now you got an opportunity to get drafted? Guess we'll do that.' I did, all right.

I'm from the old school; hard work pays off.

I wanna work with filmmakers that love, are enthusiastic about their process - about the process - about their process and the environment of inclusion and collaboration. I want the people to be able to trust me, and I wanna be able to trust them.

They were very supportive parents in all my endeavors. They have very different approaches on how they give advice.

I went to bar mitzvahs as a kid. I had a lot of classmates who are Jewish.

Hate has a language, so we have to find a language to combat that.

I was ignorant before I did my research of a lot of African American police officers out there who are doing their job and doing it the right way.

I got a lot of whoopings back in the day. I was a very curious kid.

There's men and women out there protecting and serving, doing it the right way, that aren't talked about.

I had family in Carolina who were very hood and talked differently in this sort of Southern cadence.

I knew every one of my father's lines in 'Glory' - I broke the VHS tape - but I hid my love of acting to make it as my own man.

My father taught me how to hunt.

Whenever you're feeling moments of discomfort, that means true change is happening for you.

I went to private school, but I've got family from North Carolina.

Oh, talking about private school, man, I had cornrows, and when I picked 'em out, certain people that didn't look like me always wanted to touch 'em. One time, I just said, 'Yo, hell no.'

This is a privilege, what we get to do. To be able to tell stories. It's a luxury. So I have a business-like approach to it, the same way I had with football.

Every time I was off school, I was in Carolina with my cousins. So it was a big influence on me. I actually experienced straight-up racism out there, too.

I've failed a lot, you know, in football, and I've gone on a lot of auditions, been told no, been told I'm not right, so I know what failure feels like. It's about the work.

I had a father who was active, present. There are people out there that never knew their fathers, didn't have their father's support. If I were to complain, that would be real sad. How dare I?

Who would I be if I complained about having a father that provided for me? Who would I be if I was complaining about having a father who loved me? That would make me a real jerk.

Football players are creative when they're in the moment.