In my opinion, it would be a lot better for the culture - meaning the culture of America - if there was more diversity in terms of storyline. In terms of the kind of content that you see about Americans of African descent on the screen.
So much of what I do is inspired by and for the LGBTQ community and for everyone but, just, being a theater kid and wanting to do stuff that represents us in a positive light.
I wish there was more for minorities than sitcoms. I'd like to see a soap opera about blacks. People don't live in isolation anymore.
It's the writers' job to make it positive. It's my job to make it real.
I wouldn't want a film to be made on my life, because I suppose I would only want them to show all the good things about me and hide the awful things, and that wouldn't be a very honest biopic, no?
And I'd like to believe that's true, you know, kind of showing gay people in this kind of light and - where it's not about that, it's just about the characters for the first time, like those shows were.
There's an unwritten law that you cannot have a Jewish character in a film who isn't 100 percent perfect, or you're labeled anti-Semitic.
I love to play real people... good people that I know the audience will get behind. It's the good people in the world that I gravitate to.
There are enough negative images of Black women out there and I did not want to portray Dorothy Vaughn in any stereotype. I wanted to make sure that her integrity was preserved.
I hope people have pulled something about me and said "Hey Mr. T loves his mother, hey Mr. T ain't no dummy, hey Mr. T never grabbed his crotch," when you're talking about Hip-Hop culture.
It's extremely seldom that anybody wants me to change what I've written about them. Generally I portray them in a good light, if they're friends.
There's enough of a willingness in the West to do sympathetic movies about Arab roles.
My experience with 'Transparent' has completely spoiled me because it was the safest, most transpositive set ever. I didn't have to worry about all the usual things - like when people have a vision of your transness that you're not comfortable with. When they don't know the correct gender pronouns by which to refer to you.
When I wind someone up, it's never to make them feel angry or aggressive; that doesn't make good telly. It's about uncovering a layer of themselves that is kind of sweet and nice.
The so-called positive press has in some ways been more difficult to swallow than the negative.
Do mainstream crowds want to watch a movie about good things happening in black neighborhoods? Do black audiences want to see a little girl doing something in a white world?
By making the gay character funny and sweet but above all normal, you make a far better, longer lasting statement than you would if you had an entirely gay comedy.
Very good female characters, that's all we want. It's happening, slow and steady, which I love. Hopefully, it gets a little quicker. Fast and steady, how about that? Either way, we want more good females.
I loved seeing a lead female character who isn't perfect and isn't demonized for it.
Everything I've done was above board, as an actor I wanted to do two things. I wanted to entertain as well as get a message across. I never did no pimp roles, no negative roles, or anything like that. I had fun, everything I've done I'm proud to take my mother to.
Gandalf's a good guy, and it's a good part. He says the right things, he believes the right things. An actor can have fun with it.
I think it's something much bigger than just pro wrestling and the industry I work in. It's across all media. You look at Hollywood movies: there's not the Muslim hero or the guy who looks like me and has a name like mine who is portrayed in a positive manner or in a leading role. So, growing up, I didn't have a role model that looks like me.
Becca Gardner is wonderful as the good-hearted little Griff who refuses to be daunted by all the heart-ache and resentment on dad's ranch and this young actress proves there's another young child actress in Hollywood besides Dakota Fanning.
I mean, I think there's a lot of hope in my work. I don't think I'm a total pessimist, so I think you can find hope in all my films. Some more than others, but there's definitely... I think we want to convey the feeling of hope with the montage at the end.
I've always believed in populating my films with characters who we like, who we have some warmth for, who have warmth for each other, who we would like to hang out with, who we emulate in one way or another.
