(When asked about his inspiration growing up) "My number one
inspiration was my mother. She worked two jobs and had breakfast and
dinner prepared. I essentially called my mother, The Lion. She's fierce
and she's proud. I'd like to think some of that rubbed off on me. In
the film industry,
Sidney Poitier, in a broader sense,
Muhammad Ali. He put his
beliefs above any monetary value. That's why his celebrity has never
waned. Movies, TV, sports, come and go, but what you stand for is what
people remember. Mandela,
Martin Luther King, John Kennedy are people who really
stood for something and were willing to die for it. You don't see a
whole lot of that any more."