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" In the U.S., these sights are no longer a surprise to me. I see army generals, captains of industry, and politicians of all colours and creeds on American television. "

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" I'm the only member of my family who dared to move away from Birmingham - my brothers and sister are still here, along with my mom. "

David Harewood

Mom

Sister

Family

" If you're black and have leukemia, the chances of finding a donor are drastically reduced. I added my name to the register, and lo and behold, six months later, I was asked to donate. I had a week of 'conditioning' where I had to take these pills and injections to create new stem cells in my body. "

" I was lucky to get into drama school and become a professional actor. No-one ever mentioned the colour of my skin. It's only when I came out of RADA - the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art - that I suddenly realised people started to refer to me as a black actor. "

" Growing up, I really looked up to the classic Hollywood actors like Spencer Tracy, Robert Mitchum, and Peter Falk. I love character actors - I've never wanted to be the leading guy. "

David Harewood

Growing Up

Character

" You have to have a certain single-mindedness if you want to reach the top of the profession, and I'm not sure if I've got that cold-eyed egomania that perhaps is needed to get to the top. So as long as I can keep paying the mortgage and keep myself interested, I'll be happy. "

" When I was sent the script for 'Homeland,' I didn't think anything of it. Three months later, my manager rang and said: 'They are interested in you.' I read it and I realised, 'Yes, I do want this.' Then I got an email saying I'd got it. "

" For the charities, their relationships with celebrity supporters should be as deep and purposeful as the ones they have with any of their supporters and volunteers, based on a genuine understanding of the issues they're tackling. "

" When I first played Othello, a reviewer absolutely slaughtered me. "

David Harewood

Othello

Played

" I'm very fortunate. I loved school and, when I went there, race, gangs and violence were not issues. There was a feeling, gone now, that you had to be presentable. If you hadn't combed your hair, older black ladies - complete strangers - would come up to you in the street and pull out a comb and straighten your tie. "

" We've yet to deal with the uncomfortable history of England being involved in the transatlantic slave trade, whereas America has at least made some movies dealing with its racial history. "

" Everybody can, you know, go online, read about something, and have an opinion about something. "

" We have a generation of black actors playing leading roles on film and TV - Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor - which is great and is breaking the mould. "

" People come up and say very nice things about my work, like, 'You were great in 'Blood Diamond!' "

" After 'Homeland,' I was offered a lot of very authoritarian, square, angry boss types, but I wanted to do something different. Casting directors are surprised when they look at my CV and see all the work I've done, from Shakespeare to playing Nelson Mandela. "

" Myself, I believe that black theatre continues to evolve, and the success of writers like Bola Agbaje and Rachel De-lahay is proof that fresh voices continue to emerge. "

" I do enjoy acting, but it is such a game. So for that reason, I don't think I'll ever leave London. "

" There are countless fantastic actors out there who are being denied the opportunity to play Broadway because they're not a name, and I think that's kind of wrong. "

" American television, for all its faults, still has a black presence in shows and even in commercials. You'll see black people in automobile ads, black women starring on their own television shows. We don't see that on British television. "

" Back in 2005, the Anthony Nolan Trust could have asked me just to speak out about the lack of ethnic minority donors on the bone marrow register, but that would have meant nothing if I wasn't prepared to join up myself. "

David Harewood

Back

Speak

" Working with Olivia Colman has probably been the highlight of my career so far. "

" We all have insecurities, but some of us are better at covering them up. "

David Harewood

Better

Them

" There are structural problems within the industry that are preventing us from displaying aspirational black roles. "

David Harewood

Problems

Within

" As soon as you become of interest to the media, the charity requests start rolling in, and it's not easy saying no. But if you endorse every charity that asks you, you're not really endorsing any of them. It has to mean something. "

" I'm a nut for these 'crime reality' shows. Things like 'Forensic Files,' 'Forensic Detectives.' "

David Harewood

Reality

Things

" I grew up in an environment in Birmingham that was really multicultural, with black kids, Irish kids, Indian kids. "

" I've been acting for 27 years, and anonymity has always been a part of what I do. Of course you get recognised every now and again, but 'Homeland' pushed me into a completely different strata, and that took me by surprise. "

" If you don't register to vote, politicians don't really care about you: politicians aren't really caring about what you have to say, what you have to do, anything. "

" Let's just say I like acting, but not necessarily all the stuff that comes with it. "

David Harewood

Just

Say

" You always want to look your best at events like the Globes, Emmys, or Oscars. It's a part of the business that I am not particularly comfortable with. I would prefer to turn up in a pair of jeans and an old shirt, but it's all about image - the studio wants you to look your best. "

" British people are surprised that I'm British! "