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" I would love to do an anthology show based on the character of Jesse B. Semple that Langston Hughes wrote about. He's sort of a Forrest Gump character in the midst of 20th century Harlem. "

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" 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. "

Wendell Pierce

Yourself

People

Unexpected

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

" 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. "

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

" In our house, my dad had a chair. It was a Barcalounger, big and comfortable. If we missed him or wanted comfort when he wasn't home, we'd just climb into the chair and let it envelop us. "

" 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. "

Wendell Pierce

People

Seen

" One of the real worries I had before the first season of 'Treme' aired was that, man, people in New Orleans really hold movie and television shows up to a high standard in how they depict the city. "

" I just know that 'Treme' broke ground when it comes to music and film on television. "

" One of the great things my grandparents and grandparents taught me was, there are those who don't have your best interests at heart. "

" 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. "

Wendell Pierce

Hope

Community

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

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

" 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. "

" My dad prepared me for the worst of times while also enabling me to succeed in the best. He taught me to confront the insidiousness of racism head on, no matter what the ramification, so it will not fester. Defeat it and get past it. That was The Talk. Nothing scared me after that. "

Wendell Pierce

Racism

Past

" I would love to see a real story about Fred Hampton. "

" And that's what art is, a form in which people can reflect on who we are as human beings and come to some understanding of this journey we are on. "

" In 1974, when the city of Boston was desegregating its schools, I watched the news with my dad and saw the police escorts in riot gear, the protesters screaming at the buses, small frightened faces in their windows. "

" At Julliard we had some voice classes. It was really just so you could carry a tune. It always just helps with your speaking voice also, when you connect your diaphragm and your breath. "

" 'The Wire' really is an American classic, and I think that's something to be very proud of. "

" My mother was a teacher for 40 years. She was part of the United Teachers of New Orleans. "

" 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. "

" Jon Voight is a consummate American actor. "

" A lot of cats in New Orleans, very soulful, very soulful musicians and they assume that they're singers. And they just make that assumption. And so when there's a little intonation problem, people are very forgiving of them because they heard how soulful they play. "

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

Wendell Pierce

Universal

Art

" 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. "

" My father was so against me becoming an actor. "

Wendell Pierce

Against

Actor

" I have so much love for art. "

" I trained at Juilliard so that I could do all kinds of genres, so that's what I'm trained to do. "

" The role of culture is that it's the form through which we as a society reflect on who we are, where we've been, where we hope to be. "

" We always see abhorrent behavior and say why, but then we get mad when somebody tries to answer. "