Isaiah Washington

“I firmly believe that we are all given signs and dreams and put in situations that define who we were and who we are to become. All of it points towards our destiny. All we need to do is listen carefully to the messages and follow our dreams. It is in our dreams that we find our true identities and where our destiny awaits.”

“I've written a book; I've become a better husband and father because I'm home every day. My connection to the Hollywood world has only been through Facebook.”

“Even if I'm playing a bad guy, I work hard to make him multi-leveled and interesting.”

“I'm no longer going to play thugs or debauched cops that I can't possibly make complex characters. I'm bigger than that. I owe too much to too many good people at the Goodman, Arena and Playwrights Horizons.”

“Not just art for art's sake, but I want to have films out there that will provoke authentic, holistic conversations about the human condition. And not provide the easy answers, but put it out there.”

“I'm proud to say that I was that guy playing the character of Dr. Burke on 'Grey's Anatomy.'”

“I didn't know what gay was until I lived in New York for 10 years. You know, I was just underexposed in that regard.”

“DNA has memory!”

“I love Facebook. I could brush my teeth with Facebook.”

“Whatever I'm throwing out there in my work, you either catch that detail because you're ready to catch it, but if you're not, that's OK - you're still being entertained.”

“It's, like, bigots want to embrace me, and I politely take their arms from around my neck. I don't share their views - never have.”

“I hate the term 'black' because it doesn't bring to life who we are as a people. The term 'black' has more negative synonyms than the term white.”

“I only became an actor to get your attention, to challenge the archetype of an African American male; I can't be anything else in this lifetime than an African American man.”

“I would still work with Mel Gibson! He's talented, man! Come on, he came up with 'Apocalypto,' man! I want to work with this guy. I've worked with Steven Seagal. He's out of his mind. I mean, I've worked with Spike Lee for four films. I've worked with some people that you can say are right there teetering between genius and madness.”

“Not only our political system is broken, but how we do business and have public discourse with one another. The system in Hollywood, specifically, is not depicting people of color; we're not even talking about Asian Americans or Latino Americans; we're not even getting into that question.”

“Humanity is in my heart. Do I suffer fools? No. Am I a stickler for my profession? Yes. I am a task master? Yes. My military background, football background, I'm a team player all the way, and I love winning.”

“The whole time I was on 'Grey's,' I'm still reconciling myself to my 11-year-old son, because he never saw me during that time. By the time he got up, he'd see a dent in his pillow, but by the time I got home, he was already asleep. So for three years, he had a daddy that he never saw because I had to work.”

“I'm a human being first and foremost, and I have something to say that I think is worthwhile. 'Blue Caprice' is just the second installment of so much more coming.”

“Everything is not black-and-white. I'm really interested in the gray area - not justifying it, not glorifying it, not condoning it, but at least having people see there's a genesis for every event in our lives. There's some divine order to it, whether it's ugly or beautiful.”

“I've been so incredibly blessed. I've worked with some of the greatest professionals in town. I stood at the Golden Globes.”