“My mom was very strict. She didn’t let me watch anything rated R or anything with cussing.”

Being humble matters.

On ‘Think Like a Man,’ they got the best out of me because they allowed me to bring my own cadences and opinions to the character that I was playing. I think we got the best of that particular character.

I don’t write material. Funny things happen to me in the course of a day, and I just make notes.

I never looked back there, but she was like, ‘Will you all just shut up!’ And I just got up and moved three rows in front. She was like, ‘What are you doing?!’ I was like, ‘You better get up here! I don’t play the fighting games.’

What women need to understand is that men don’t communicate. It’s not intentional or on purpose. We’re just not as emotional. You ladies feel like you have to express yourselves.

At some point in time, you definitely have to go drama. Not to say that you’re going drama just because everybody else does it.

I love being on stage, I love being able to tell a story, I love the fact that the audience listens and laughs at it. It makes me happy, and it’s what I live for.

I am who I am. That’s why my friends and peers respect and appreciate me.

I get that racism exists, but it’s not a catalyst for my content. I don’t need to talk about race to have material.

Some sarcasm is best told simply.

When other movies are done with a predominantly white cast, we don’t call them a white film. I’m trying to remove the stigma off things they call black films.

At the end of the day, your fans are the people who support you in and out. And their opinions matter.

I know a dramatic role is going to happen, but you just got to be patient, you know? It’s going to happen when it’s supposed to happen. I’m not rushing it. I’m not trying to make it happen tomorrow.

My kids are coming up in a different time then me. Interracial couples are of the norm. With me, it’s about making sure my kids understand the importance of education and having opportunities that I didn’t.

All men hate the nagging.

At the end of the day, regardless of the color of the cast, we’re all doing the same thing in this business: trying to make a good film.