Wendell Pierce

“Culture is the intersection of people and life itself. It's how we deal with life, love, death, birth, disappointment... all of that is expressed in culture.”

“New Orleans, more than many places I know, actually tangibly lives its culture. It's not just a residual of life; it's a part of life. Music is at every major milestone of our life: birth, marriage, death. It's our culture.”

“Ultimately, I would love to do 'The Emperor of Ocean Park' by Stephen Carter.”

“The social justice movement of the 21st century is economic development.”

“I went to Beijing for the Olympics and was literally right across the track from Usain Bolt. And when he gets to full stride, for every two steps the other guy's taking, he's just taking one.”

“Coming out of school, sometimes people can be theater snobs. I only wanted to do theater, highbrow stuff. But what I learned very quickly is there can be good material in every genre.”

“Jon Voight is a consummate American actor.”

“When a sports team is doing well in a city that's going through tough times like New Orleans, like Detroit, it bolsters this real sentiment of 'we can get through this.' And when you have that sentiment, it becomes more than feelings: It's transported into action.”

“I played trumpet for about two weeks. Sixth grade. And I didn't practice. Maybe a little longer than two weeks, but I didn't practice and I was faking it.”

“It was really great to also see the response that people were having to 'Treme' 'cause you're in a vacuum when you're on a TV show. You see the response online, you read about it and all of that, but actually to be live and have that many thousands of fans come out, it's really wonderful.”

“Great art, the more specific you are, the more universal it becomes, and that's the thing that I loved about 'The Wire.'”

“The key, I always thought, to my career would be diversity - a diversity of not only the type of work that you do but the mediums.”

“What thoughts are to the individual, art is to the community as a whole. That's where you reflect on who you are, who you hope to be, what you've gone through, and where you hope to go.”

“The power of a sports team in a community it's almost indescribable.”

“Gregory Hines was the most talented man I've ever met or seen. Gregory Hines is one of those people that whenever he talked to you, you felt like you were the center of the universe.”

“David Simon is a brilliant writer, brilliant at being able to take what is ordinary and make it extraordinary.”

“It strengthens the acting muscles to tap into other parts of yourself. When you can accomplish something that's unexpected, for you as well as the audience, that's really important. It's also very important if you want people considering you for other projects to broaden their view of you.”

“I tell people all the time: get some training and become a student of your craft.”

“I worked at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, lived there for three years, and lived in Baltimore for 12 years.”

“The NFL is such a large, multibillion dollar enterprise with fan loyalty because they have provided not only entertainment for sports fans, but memories, good memories, family memories to these fans, that can only bring about good will.”