I think that's what good writing is all about. You go into a genre to talk about other things. Tolkein created a whole world to talk about the world he lived in.

I always feel like I'm running an hour and a half late.

When was the last time you saw a straight black love story without any guns?

I entered Hofstra University as a psychology major.

Everyone does what they believe they need to do in order to survive in this business, 'survive' being the operative word.

When I first came into New York City, what I did was, I didn't have very much money, and I couldn't afford pictures or a resume, so what I used to do is I would tear off the back of a matchbook, and I'd write my name and telephone number on the back of the matchbook.

You want to be challenged, so you feel like you want to get up and wrestle with the character or enjoy the character - especially with a TV show, because you know you could be doing it for a long time, so you want to make sure it's something you really enjoy.

I think, very often, we're addicted to procedurals, those good guy/bad guy shows, and the 'problem' with procedurals is they all follow the same formula: The bad guy does his thing, the good guy goes after him, and in most cases, the good guy figures out who did it and catches him.

It's funny: We have so many shows and so many channels and so many things to occupy people as entertainment, especially with a show like 'Scandal,' which is clearly a hit, with a lot of heat around it - but every once in a while, people will say, 'What are you doing?' and I'll say 'Scandal,' and they'll have no idea what I'm talking about.

I think that, unfortunately, it appears that Donald Trump is trampling all over the Constitution.

I've never liked much of reality television, mostly because it involves humiliation.

I make it a habit of never trying to judge what an audience might think, only because all points of view are too close, because we're doing it every day, I think that the actor's point of view is sometimes too close to what the material actually is.

'Paycheck,' I thought, was a really, really good idea. I never got an opportunity, unfortunately, to read the novel, but I loved the idea of how to deal with intellectual properties. I just don't know that we necessarily got to the heart of that particular idea. I think it became more of a chase movie than anything else.

I love doing theater. Despite the fact that out of theater, film, and TV, theater is the hardest thing to do. It's the least paid, and we all have these bills that we have to pay.

I don't think you can play a villain with a negative point of view.

I think every villain basically thinks that he or she is doing something to make his world, or the world in general, a better place.

'Breaking Bad' - when I started watching that show, I thought it was terrific. I love the way it was shot. I love the writing. I love the arc of Bryan Cranston's character. I just thought that was just really, really a wonderful, wonderful show.

In the case of Papa Pope, certainly he's making his daughter's world and the world of the republic a much better place.

We live in a world where racism hasn't changed at all. It's that old thing of, you know, the more things change, the more things remain the same.

My father was in the military; he was a captain. His service was to quote-unquote integrate the Armed Forces overseas.

I don't watch a lot of television, which sounds strange for someone who works in TV.

I think it might be interesting to give an Emmy to an outstanding background performance in either a comedy or drama series.

Dick Gregory used every syllable, every metaphor, every joke, every march, every incarceration, every hour of his life, to embarrass this country into providing a more perfect, perfect union.

Dick Gregory will be greatly missed. Humbly, and in his stead, 'Turn Me Loose' carries on to be his voice and his inspiration for all who wish to laugh at the absurdity of racism and be enlightened by his spirit of justice.

My whole career has been a landmark. So I don't think about the pressure too much. I just go out and do, because I believe in it.

I've played good guys for most of my career, and when I came out to California, I thought, 'I really would like to find some wonderfully intelligent bad guy to play.'

I think the responsibility that any actor has is to bring some truth to the work.

Most of my career I purposely spent doing good guys.

If you've been on top of the food chain in the Armed Forces, that's who you are. You're used to dealing with your life in a particular way.

When you give your children certain life lessons, and they come and ask you for additional advice, you say to yourself, 'I've done my job,' and you'll continue to do your job.

To work for Shonda Rhimes is heaven. It's been amazing.

When I'm waiting to bat I try to watch the game and make sure I know what is going on so I am ready when I get out there but I spend a lot of time hydrating. It is very important for your performance and concentration. If it is cold I might have a coffee but mainly I am trying to stay really hydrated.

I've always wanted to play Test cricket from a young age and that's what you dream about. But you have to make sure you can contribute regardless of the format.

I want England to do well. I want us to go to World Cups and win. If I'm not in the best eleven or the best squad, so be it. I'll support whoever's involved all the way through.

You have to enjoy winning and being part of a successful team, just being a young bloke. But at the same time you want to be back page and not front page news and be spoken about for your cricket and contributing to winning rather than getting it wrong on a night out.

Bowling at Steve Smith in his form is difficult and you have to make sure you take all your chances.

I still like to think I have a pretty good laugh with the other guys in the dressing room and still enjoy a beer and the odd night out.

That's the food chain that cricket is sometimes. You have to be at the top of it otherwise you get swept away and eaten up.

I remember getting hit in the ribs when I was on about eight or nine in my first game, and everyone rushed over, quite concerned. The umpire said to me afterwards, 'If anyone had appealed I would have had to give you out LB!' I ended that innings about nine not out off about 15 overs. I was already digging in - Yorkshire style.

I am slightly better at sleeping now during Test matches. I have a diary and I write things down, which helps. I write about decisions, a lot about opposition and stuff I want to say to the team so I am clear on the message I want to give.

As a batter you are generally playing a mental game most of the time and having too long to prepare can work against you - you can almost fry yourself out before a Test match or feel slightly fatigued two games in because you have spent too long preparing.

We should be looking to inspire every living person in this country to play the game of cricket.

From the age of six I used to watch every England team and when I was messing around in the backyard I would pretend to be whoever was scoring runs at the time, whether they were a right or left-hander. I just wanted to be them and do that.

I'm not a massive reader, to be honest. I try and fill my time with other things. But I remember getting halfway through a book once. It was 'The Client' by John Grisham, which was quite interesting.

In white-ball cricket the conditions do vary, but throughout Tests it varies a lot more in a five-day game, and home advantage becomes more prevalent in Test cricket.

When you go to Australia you are always asked whether you can perform in hostile environments against high pace and every Australian side I have played against has had guys bowling over 90mph.

I just want to represent England whether it is in the middle, at the top or wherever. If it means opener then great but I'm not too fussed about it. I just want to be in the side.

You learn from the bad games and the bad tours. And, when things are going well, you think about that and you make the most of it. You don't get lazy; you don't rest on your laurels.

We've seen guys in the sport, like Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, who have actually benefited from the captaincy.

If you look round the world, most teams want guys who can bowl up at 90 mph because they can make things happen when it isn't doing much.