Quotes About Authenticity

When you see Bret Hart versus Steve Austin, it just seemed so much more real than Hulk Hogan versus Sgt. Slaughter.

I've always been fascinated by this idea of who we are versus who we want to be.

There's so many people who come to me here in L.A., promising me this and promising me that. What I'm learning is figuring out what's real versus what's just talk.

I think audiences are really savvy and know when we're doing stuff to just shock them versus do stuff that really drives the story.

Someone once told me that being in the closet is like living in a vertical casket. Perfect description.

Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite.

I am a very simple person in real life and I enjoy what I do.

To be honest, I am very comfortable with myself.

Acting deals with very delicate emotions. It is not putting up a mask. Each time an actor acts he does not hide; he exposes himself.

Let me get you to understand I don't bully anybody. I stand up for what I believe in and I'm very honest and I always tell the truth. I'm not a liar, I'm not manipulative and I don't stab you in your back because I will stab you in your chest.

I learned at a very early age, the easiest thing in the world is to tell the truth, and then you don't have to remember what you said. It has nothing to do with morality, just remembering what you said.

I'm a breath of fresh air, and there hasn't been something this black on TV for a very long time.

If you're an open channel when you're onstage, if you're just a vessel, things are going to come out that are stored away deep in your DNA.

I think that you can't help but bring pieces of who you are. No matter what you do, it comes through you as a vessel.

I think I always wanted to be an actor - sounds a bit boring, doesn't it? And I pretended once that I wanted to be a vet because one of the teachers asked me and saying you want to be an actor sounds a little bit silly. And I do still feel a bit silly saying it. You feel a bit fraudulent.

There is a healthy disrespect among veterans who served on the front lines for people who walk around telling war stories.

Sometimes I'm happy - you can tell via Twitter. Sometimes I'm pissed off - you can tell via Twitter. I just think, at the end of the day, I don't want them to see me as a celebrity; I just want them to see me and say, 'He's like a regular person at his job right now who's mad.'

If I outline Prince Charming, I could end up with someone with no chemistry. I don't believe in trying to calculate one type of chemistry via algorithm, but I do think you need to do as much as you possibly can.

Those are the frustrations in this industry - the boxes and the labels, where they say, 'You are this one thing and this is the only thing that makes you unique or viable. So just be trans. And here's a stamp on your forehead and all your characters will be wearing a fake mustache and saying, 'Dad, I want to wear pantyhose.'

There's a certain vibe in my hometown; Buffalo is a city that has no illusions.

I'm tired of people disturbing the peace, getting on the radio and sounding a hot mess. If I can tell what the note really is, why let them go to the note they think it is? I've got that mama vibe. I don't look at it with an ego.

Why trip off some random person in Idaho that doesn't feel my vibe? Like, no thank you. Stay in your life; I'll stay in mine.

On 'Old School,' I was not an actor, I was Snoop Dogg, so I came to the set with a whole different vibe, and a different crew of people. And on 'Starsky and Hutch,' I was more of an actor. I wasn't Snoop Dogg, the rapper.

As an artist, you can always learn different ways to refine your look. I mean, you look at any one time in my career and you see all the hairstyles I went through. You make changes until something feels comfortable with you. And people vibe with it because they can see the difference.