Ving Rhames

“I think quite a bit of organized religion has become big business. Jesus Christ never sold the word of God. He never gave a sermon and then said, 'For $8.99, you can buy the CD.'”

“I was more interested in playing sports than acting. I didn't take acting too seriously until the end of my junior year.”

“I find it so strange that I throw people off-center.”

“When I look at the world, I recognize that unfortunately, it sometimes takes an atrocity like 9/11 to force us to come together.”

“I don't give Hollywood the power to limit me. Only God can limit me.”

“I grew up in Harlem in New York, very rough, urban environment, and so what I found is that, if I can have kids travel to different places, countries, areas, it can expand their minds.”

“I graduated on a Friday. By Monday, I was doing Shakespeare in the Park.”

“God has blessed me with a certain amount of presence and a certain amount of charisma.”

“I grew up in Harlem, and the kids used to tease me. You know that song 'Bingo'? Well, they used to sing, 'V-i-n-g-o, and Vingo was his name-o.'”

“I'm a God-fearing man, and I know the only reason why I am here going from poverty to where I am now is God has His hand on my life. I tell people, 'I didn't choose acting; God chose me to act.'”

“There could be some unknown actor who's a better actor than Ving Rhames, but no one knows that actor, so Ving Rhames will get the job.”

“Since God is the foundation of my life, anything that streams from that can only be positive.”

“Using the Africanist model, each generation should take the family name to a higher place. My father's folks were sharecroppers in South Carolina. He went to Harlem. They were still poor, but they moved up. If my parents didn't do this and offer me this background, I wouldn't be here.”

“When I think of the trials and tribulations that black men go through in America and that black artists went through, I feel very privileged.”

“Miss Goodblatt would call on me to read. She said I had a talent. So on a whim, I auditioned for the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan.”

“You get Don King's point of view in what is almost a Shakespearean, classical technique. He comes across almost like a lovable rogue, like Iago in 'Othello' or Richard III. He's doing all these bad things, but I kind of like him. It's like 'Pulp Fiction': Everybody's a bad guy, yet you like them.”