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" Support for charities takes many forms. Some people give their money, some their spare time. I give my name and my voice. We give what we can to make a difference to the people and issues that matter to us. But what's most important, especially for celebrities, is giving our genuine commitment. "

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" We don't like talking about race in the U.K. - it's a very sensitive subject. People get extremely defensive and run for the covers, but I believe we have to talk about it. "

David Harewood

Talking

Race

Believe

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

" British people are surprised that I'm British! It's extraordinary, I get tweets every day from British people saying, 'I had no idea you were British.' "

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

" 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. "

" Everyone wants to be James Bond, and there's a queue of guys ahead of me - but I will throw my hat into the ring. Bond is such an iconic role, you would have to seriously think how to approach it. "

" When I was in South Africa, I went for dinner with some friends, and I knew more about their history than they did - it just hasn't been told. "

David Harewood

History

Africa

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

" Before 'Homeland,' I had £80 in the bank and no idea what I was going to do. I seriously considered giving it all up and getting a job as a lorry driver. "

" I have always been reasonably anonymous, but I suppose that has gone with the success of 'Homeland.' I feel a lot more visible, which is good and bad. Good because I am getting recognition, but I am slightly apprehensive because I always enjoyed my anonymity. "

" It's been interesting seeing how vulnerable Obama is: not the secure president I thought he was or the strong leader that many people hoped he would be. He's a conciliator. But I've been listening to the Republican primary debates, and they're a bunch of lunatics. Just crazy. "

" If people see that I'm fully committed to my chosen charities and fully engaged in their issues, maybe they'll click a link to find out more. "

" In England, you feel like a member of the revolutionary guard the minute you even mention race. But I do think that the OscarsSoWhite phenomenon will have to reflect back on England. What people are essentially saying is that they want to see more diverse stories. It's not about putting three black people in the back of the shot. "

" I was always the classroom clown, and the teachers allowed me a certain latitude. The assemblies were good, and the headmaster used to tell little stories; I loved the idea of communal storytelling. "

David Harewood

Clown

Always

" My black hero is and always will be Martin Luther King, not just because of the strength of his oratory but because his vision was very much the reality that I'd come to take for granted. "

" My parents came over from Barbados in the late 1950s and early '60s. "

" I remember when I first came to Los Angeles being staggered by the range of roles open to me. These were leading parts in shiny new projects, and what always excited me was knowing there was a possibility that I could actually get these parts. I always had the impression that I had a chance. "

" We live on a planet of limited resources - an abstract notion for some of the world's population, but for many of the poorest and most vulnerable, those limits are all too real. "

" 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. "

" Without a doubt, the majority of historical period dramas tend to be told from a certain perspective. At least in America, black people have some visibility in period dramas, although it's usually in the form of slaves or servitude. "

" I hope my kids can experience the seasons and a climate that's sustainable. The idea that things are going to be so very different for them is slightly scary. "

" I didn't go abroad until quite late. A friend drove us to Amalfi, Italy, for his sister's wedding when I was a teenager. It was exciting driving through Europe. "

" If people of colour do not exercise their democratic right to vote, they will remain an invisible, voiceless, and largely ignored part of the electorate. "

" I remember coming back to the U.K. after spending five months in Charlotte for 'Homeland,' and I just found myself just wandering around London. There's nothing like it - the buildings, the architecture, the sense of history, the sense of culture - there really is nothing like it. "

" I like America; I enjoy being there. Some people can't stand the insincerity - I love the waiter asking me how my day has been, the can-do culture there. I love the fact that again, you are visible in America. You turn the TV on, there are black politicians, black policemen, black soldiers. "

" The area where I grew up in Birmingham was very diverse - I was aware of my race but not overly aware of it - and there seemed to be an understanding that we were all very much in the same boat. "

David Harewood

Race

Understanding

" Two years after drama school, I had a nervous breakdown: I heard voices, and the voice I heard in my head was Martin Luther King's. "

" I always tell younger actors that if they want to learn the ropes, there's no better place to do it than right here in the U.K. "