The idea of a new hero for a new day sang to me.
Corey Hawkins
I feel immensely blessed - not just that I'm working, but that I'm working on projects that I really care about and like. I've always been that way.
I'm so OCD about prep work and learning lines and stuff.
When somebody says, 'Do you want to play Dr. Dre in a movie?' I mean, how do you respond to that? My initial response was 'no' because I don't think I can do it ,and I don't want to be the one to mess it up!
Even before I was working off-Broadway, there were lots of different TV shows that I would actually say 'no' to, and my agents would be like, 'Are you crazy?' but they stuck with me because they know the kind of things that excite me.
There's no wrong choice because, whatever you choose, that's meant for you.
I grew up singing, and I played on Broadway to thousands of people, you know what I mean?
I like being a chameleon and doing things that are just so different that people will be like, 'Oh, that's him?'
Sometimes you just need to raise your voice. And sometimes a little anger is necessary, to be honest.
I have the most utmost respect for the men and women overseas, and I only played a soldier on television. Again, I can only imagine the sacrifices that they make every single day.
There's good cops and bad cops, and the good cops have to hold the bad cops accountable. We have to hold the bad cops accountable, too.
I didn't grow up seeing faces of patriots, emotional and raw and gritty, who looked like me.
Nothing's out of the realm. I think '24' has always keyed into that.
We work so hard on our craft, and once we get out of Duke Ellington, there are not going to be people looking for technique. I worry about that a lot.
So you want to take the risk, and you want to step out there; you do it because that's what we have to do as actors. And sometimes in TV, it becomes big, and it becomes about the entertainment, but also, we have to focus in on the work.
My mother's a police officer, so there was only so much trouble I could get myself into. But my father grew up on the other side.
Yes, I do feel a deep responsibility every time, every character, everything that I do.
I'm not going to lie to you: I'd prefer not to go to the gym and not to run.
When it comes to the awards and everything, and the press, the publicity, this is all icing on the cake to me.
It's also crazy how Shakespeare has that cadence, and it's about locking into the jazz of the language, just like locking into the rhythm in N.W.A's lyrics.
The only thing that I know how to do as an actor, as a trained actor, is you can't villainize the character you're playing. Whether it's a fictional character or a real character. Because then you operate from that sort of negative point of view, and you can't humanize him.
I know the struggle - trust me. I know how hard it is for us to say 'no' to a lot of things that get offered.
Sometimes '24' can seem a little grand. Sometimes these things can seem a little outlandish.
I like to surprise myself. I like to surprise my fans, too.
I think, in our darkest moments, you have to find the humor, and you have to find the lightness.
I had my foot in both worlds. I knew what I didn't want, and so I had to make a choice, just like N.W.A. made choices.
On '24,' you don't have time to emote and deal with stuff, because stuff just keeps happening. Every other minute, there's something crazy that's happening that's threatening this country.
If you feel your rights are being abused by the authorities, and you don't say something, sometimes the cops don't know how far to take it. They have a hard job, but at the same time, I think it's just about educating yourself.
What everyone loved about '24' is still there - the clock, the tick, the lean-in factor, the pacing.
In 2001, terrorism was fought in a completely different way.
I'm tired of seeing people dying every day; I'm tired of seeing people go to jail for nothing.
I prefer to do in-person interviews, but it's all a part of the job, and I love talking about these movies so much.
I'll just put it this way: I've struggled enough as a working actor - and, most of the times, a not working actor - to know that anytime you are working is a blessing.
While I was filming 'Kong' - and I don't play a very capable Army Ranger in 'Kong'; I play a completely different character - but we had a lot of Army Rangers there, former Army Rangers, and Navy SEALs, who were working on the movie with us for the other characters, for the Army guys in the movie.
In television, to be a hero and look like I look, that really stuck with me.
If the challenge wasn't there, there's no reason to say 'yes' to the role.
I sort of have to have a positive outlook.
I remember seeing the first episode of '24' when I was 13, and to be that face for a 13-year-old and open up that possibility, it shows you the world isn't on fire. There's possibility there.
Sometimes, as actors, we feel like we want to hold on and control where a character goes.
I have members of my family who are in the military. I have friends who are in the military. Classmates who served in the military.
I knew I wanted to be an artist early on, but I decided to seriously pursue the profession when I auditioned for Juilliard.
I'm a very private guy, so it's an adjustment for me, but a welcomed one, as long as the work remains the focus.
The rules of engagement are totally different when you're on the homefront.
I like being the underdog.
I like doing things that people wouldn't necessarily think I can do.
We are a diverse people, man.
Growing up, we never got to see a hero who didn't have superpowers who looked like us, that you could kind of look to and say, 'I could be that guy one day. I could be a patriot. I could be a soldier. I could work in the government and be a hero.'
I remember 'The Cosby Show,' but that was something completely different. Comedy. There was a lightness to it and a sort of unrealistic perfection.
You know how trends go with television. Next year, the networks might not be open to taking risks.
The challenge is making sure that every single moment is honest, no matter what. It's doing Eric Carter justice. Not trying to fill Jack Bauer's shoes. Not trying to step into Kiefer's legacy.
