The great thing about James Baldwin and his writing is that it's still fresh every time you pick it up. That's also the sad thing about his writing sometimes, too.

I used to draw and do a lot of calligraphy and typography. I'm a big sketcher, too.

I have been the hugest HBO fan since I was 3, watching programming that I had no business watching as a child.

It's not without its flaws - it's still the South and the Bible Belt - but Atlanta is one of those cities that's really good at uniting people.

This is the city that kind of formulated who I am. And, not only that, but to be black in Atlanta is one of the greatest things because you can go anywhere and feel familiar with anyone who's right next to you, from Bankhead to Buckhead.

Atlanta, in itself, is its own living, breathing thing.

At the end of the day, it's incredibly important to have a show like 'Atlanta' because if we can't stand up for and celebrate each other, then who will? Who will do it better?

Every single person you can think of called me Paper Boi.

I usually get approached by older white ladies of a certain class, with their pearls and, you know, their Talbots on and everything, and they're like, 'We just have to say, we know we're not your demographic, but we love Paper Boi; we really love this show, and we love what you're doing.' It's totally cool.

People like to use the word 'naivete' as a negative, but not for me.

The humility keeps me going forward.

You can't share your magic with everyone. Your job is to live within your magic. And if other magical people find you, then let's go and make a brew.

I never really thought about what kind of career I wanted to map out for myself. I just wanted to do work that spoke to my heart. 'Atlanta' definitely did that.

Acting, for me, was kind of a way of survival, honestly. I'm the baby boy out of four different sisters, and I grew up in a house with so many different personalities that acting was the only way to not go to therapy.

I just remember watching my first theater class, and I was like, 'Oh I can get up there,' like I could absolutely get up and do this every day and learn about it.

I think that's the best thing about being black is that we find a way to make our own communities and always give room for people to pull up to our tables. We always provide a way for other people from different walks of life to come into the communities that we have built because we're so used to being excluded.

That's the great thing about being an actor: getting the opportunity to do something that really speaks to you.

I'm a huge pin collector.

'Atlanta' is really trying to put that out there: these are just the lives of these people in this city, and this city is its own breathing, living thing, too. So how do you navigate through life, especially with dreams and aspirations in a world that tells you that you don't deserve to have them.

Just to say 'woke' is to always be in a constant stream of consciousness where you don't feel like the wool is pulled over your eyes so much. You question your belief that everything should just be presented to you on this beautiful plate. Everything is not as it seems.

Things are constantly evolving, and anything could happen. And that's exciting to me.

Perceptions really do define what our realities are. What we're hoping to do with 'Atlanta' is to really shatter that. To shatter it completely wide open. To go from the furthest lane of absurdity to the furthest lane of reality and make them blend.

I know it when I don't know it. Sometimes I know it when I don't think I know it. I need to trust myself in these moments, these rare moments of self-doubt.

Ladies and gentlemen, even my own staff challenges me. When I issue edicts, commands, orders, ideas, you would think that there would be overwhelming blanket acquiescence, approval, and support.

There's a void of leadership in a lot of Washington. I think one of the reasons why there's so much angst across the country.

How can people be so stupid? I marvel at that. See, I think you have to work as being ignorant - and if you're gonna work at being ignorant, why not work at being informed?

I think I'm becoming a psychologist in explaining the Republican Party. It's the only way you can explain 'em. It's psychological.

Most liberals I know do not consider themselves to even be liberals. They just think of you and me as conservatives, and that means, therefore, we're odd and we're kooks and maybe extreme and maybe mean.

I don't think looking at things through the prism of fear is going to accomplish anything.

I am sort of proud that I think radio has become a dominant influence in shaping public opinion. Good radio paints the picture for the audience. The audience has to be actively involved. Sometimes, in television, you can get lulled into sleep watching the picture, not listening to what you're hearing.

The media uses polls to create news stories. I think polls are just an extension of the editorial page, an excuse to get them on the front page. You can ask any question you want, get any answer you want, and then run around with that as a news story.

You don't win everything. And you ultimately have to take what you get. I think on the case of [Donald] Trump, there's a much bigger upside than down side.

I think there's something remarkable happening here that nobody is talking about. They're skirting the issue. For the longest time, the Republican Party has told us that they can't win with just Republican votes. And that's why they support amnesty. That's why they support the Democrats on many of their issues to go out and get Hispanics or other minorities.

I think clear heads will prevail and the correct enemy will be identified, political enemy will be identified, and efforts will come together to defeat whoever it is they throw up - Democrats, I mean.

I think it's Greek Orthodox - who totally believes in the pope, not anything about attacking the United States, which needs to be because we're not recognizing the dignity of all people.

I think we're going to have a nominee, whoever it is, and we'll have support for the nominee.

I think Senator [Ted] Cruz's strategy is that there's 4.5 million, 5 million Republicans that didn't vote in 2012. This is the conventional wisdom and they didn't vote because they didn't like the nominee, wasn't conservative enough, or there was a religious component. Who knows what?

Ted Cruz is tailored his message for a specific conservative evangelical. I think it's limited his appeal. I think he has the ability to appeal to everybody.

You think the pope is mad that [Donald] Trump said Two Corinthians instead of "second"? Get this. Pope Francis just said that contraception can be justified now.

How many migrants, how many immigrants, how many migrants and refugees fleeing war-torn areas in the Middle East are permitted into the Vatican? I'm not kidding. I think I saw a story where they're going to take ... two. It's obviously symbolic. They will take two at the Vatican, thereby setting an example and showing how it's done.

It was primary election, but [Donald] Trump hasn't spent a lot of money. Not compared to - I mean, Jeb Bush had a $115 million super PAC, and he has six delegates. It's not a dream, but it's something I do think about.

From 1924 to 1965, 41 years, essentially, there was no immigration. Try telling people that in the midst of this debate and they won't believe you. They'll think you're making it up. They'll think you're lying about it.

We just totally have abandoned reality here, and the Democrats have created a new reality that is not real whatsoever that people have bought into and accepted, to the point now where the upholding of current law is what's considered lawless and partisan and political, and [Barak] Obama attempting to skirt the law and ignore the law is what people think is the law!

The left has been able to destroy conservatives, dispatch conservatives, to ruin conservatives simply on the basis of accusing them or illustrating them supposedly violating political correctness, by virtue of exposing what they think or say.

The more outlandish things he said, the deeper the connection. Well, [Donald] Trump has that. That's why I don't think they can destroy Trump the way that they're trying to destroy Trump over this thing in Scotland today. This is a perfect example.

Why do I think the polls were wrong? People were relying on the pollsters. There was "the Brexit Effect." I think there's a Trump Effect, too. I think people are lying to the pollsters about Trump. There isn't any question about it.

The media cannot come separate [Donald] Trump from his supporters. Only Trump can do that. They're trying, they're gonna keep trying because they think they can. They did it with [George W.]Bush. They did it with [Mitt] Romney. They did it with [John] McCain. They did it with Bob Dole.

There may be some who wish that he would have taken the occasion to first comment on the Brexit vote, but they're not going to abandon him. They're not gonna let the media do it. Romney people? The media could separate his supporters from him, but they can't from Trump. They don't understand this yet. They think one of these times when they do a trick like this it's gonna work and they're gonna be able to really harm [Donald] Trump.

I still maintain that you cannot treat [Donald] Trump, analyze Trump, destroy Trump the way politics says you destroy people that are running for office. I don't think the standard, ordinary operating procedures work.

Most people grow up thinking everybody wants to come to America because America is the sweet spot of the planet. America is the greatest place in the world - which it is - and everybody wants to be here.