Everything is a negotiation. Everything is a little bit of give and take.
Lamman Rucker
We're human beings trying to love each other. There are constant revelations and room for growth.
Most importantly, I realize the value of the other people - the extended family - the other people within my community, my cultures: my teachers and the other people I call Auntie, Uncle, Godfather, Godbrother, whatever. These are people who pulled you in and made you part of their lives and their homes.
High blood pressure is a major health crisis in the black community.
When all is said and done, I want to die exhausted and empty because I gave everything that was in me. I believe that's why we're all here: to give of ourselves to one another to help create a better world, because you can't take it with you.
I'm all about black folks working together and progressing together.
You can add five years to your lifespan by just making intelligent lifestyle choices.
I play real men that I can identify with. I have a lot of guys tell me that they relate to me because I represent the real, everyday dudes.
I wanted to create a line for women and men alike that would encourage them to embrace the harmony and divine balance of sensuality and spirituality within all of us. Forplai is an opportunity to not only smell good and feel good, but to also take time to connect with the heavens above and the god in you.
I don't like a whole lot of flash and superficial stuff; I want a woman that's all-natural, in her purest form.
I've always been attracted to more than just the way a woman looks and the way she's shaped.
'Why Did I Get Married?' did so well because it gave some real perspective on the realities of love.
There's no greater source of happiness than giving yourself to other people.
No one likes to be typecast, but I would like to believe that the attention I get is for my acting, but at the same time, darn it, if I get to keep playing the handsome, smart guy, then that's also a blessing, and it's the last thing I would complain about.
I'm a proud Ellington alum. It has everything to do with who I am.
I don't have a problem showing vulnerability.
People have no concept of boundaries.
My mother and father were visionaries in Pittsburgh, part of that collective of people who were creative and active together, and I am a product of that community and those relationships.
Pittsburgh is home. I was born there, and it will always have priority in that respect.
Throughout my career, I wouldn't say my roles have been based on my being considered eye candy.
Black people are not often considered mainstream.
My ability to bring different characters to life is what has helped me advance in my career, and I would say as far as looks are concerned, well, I suppose that would be the icing on the cake, but acting comes first and foremost.
I still play ball competitively because it helps keep me stay in shape.
This is America, and everybody has the right to voice and to have an opinion and to have their commentary on things and people.
It's great to go to work and your boss is a black man, one of your peers, you know?
Just take one small victory at a time.
The perfect date is real simple. I wanna just spend a nice casual day walking in the park, playing on the swings... throwing bread crumbs to the ducks, really just chilling and getting to know each other and connecting with the real woman.
I'm especially honored that The Black Gents will debut Off-Broadway and pay tribute to The Tuskegee Airmen and other ancestors of that time who have embodied excellence, self-determination, and self-discipline.
Everybody is important. Everybody has something to give.
A part of growing up in this international world is understanding and being prepared and having tools to adapt outside of the small environment that you may have come from. That's what education is all about.
As an actor, you're not a person; you're a product, a commodity. It's about money. Your job is about making money for other people. At some point, you learn how to be on the other side of that table. You write, direct, produce, and create opportunity for yourself. Then you start to make money for yourself.
When you learn how to be really attentive, you learn the importance of patience and appreciating a woman. You're able to appreciate the softness of her skin and the look in her eyes. It's a connection.
I learned at a very young age how to be simplistic and sincere.
She's equally as gracious as someone who shares experiences with you as she is as a superior. What's so graceful about her is that no matter what, she's just Oprah.
Man, my days in Oakdale were a whirlwind.
I still get lots of folks who remember my days on ATWT and AMC. As a matter of fact, they're the proudest fans of all because they feel like, 'We were here first,' before I had other fans from all my other shows and movies. They feel a deeper sense of pride and connection to me and have followed my career ever since 2002.
What I've learned is that what most women really want deep down inside is time to get to know you - and your undivided attention. They want it to be about them for a little while.
There's nothing more fun than just walking through town or maybe going to a community-based festival. How much does that cost? Nothing!
You need a spiritual foundation. Something that allows you to see how you connect to the rest of the universe. It's simple stuff, but it's hard.
Many women are so wounded that they can't love another person.
I need a woman who is secure and loves herself first. Then she can share that love and light with me.
It's always a wonderful experience to keep working.
I have a Masters and a technology degree already. When I'm not in film or television, my wheels are spinning full time.
Sometimes you can see a pilot, and then when the series starts, it's different people. That's always possible.
I played ball in college and semi-professional, and aside from the game and all that, the most valuable thing is the relationships. Who can care how many rings you have or how many championships you've won or how many records you broke. The most valuable stuff is the intangible stuff.
You can change your body shape by permitting yourself to exercise and eat a healthy diet and so on - and we've heard miraculous stories of people who have lost hundreds of pounds, and they look like a completely different person - but that's not the norm for the average person, and a lot of times, people don't get that way in a healthy way.
Sometimes, people only change what they look like for the acceptance of other people, and that's where you start going wrong.
It's not attractive to be talking down about yourself all the time. All you continue to do to yourself is pull yourself further down into a deeper place of depression and sadness and insecurity and fear and hopelessness, so it's like, having God in your life is important, accepting who you are is important, regardless of what you look like.
Purity of the spirit is important. A lot of people don't focus on what's going on inside, and no matter what they look like, even sometimes when people do all this wonderful work or they are blessed naturally to look good on the outside, if their spirit is ugly - I don't care how fine you are, if you're ugly on the inside, then you're uglier.
