Top 50 Quotes & Sayings by Dennis Haysbert
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American actor Dennis Haysbert.
Last updated on November 5, 2024.
I would love a combination of action/adventure and... love. And stories told with heart. I would like people to be invigorated as well as moved. People to see the movie and see that. I love to play, y'know, well-rounded characters.
On my wall, along with my favorite football players and baseball players, I had Marlon Brando and Sir Laurence Olivier. These were childhood idols.
I really do believe that was what I was put on this planet to do: to give to people and, through my performances, show them another world - in the case of '24,' to show them what a politician, black or white, should be. Basically, I wanted to be a service to others.
I look at Facebook a fair bit. I see what's posted. I see the travesties and illegalities of what police forces do. And I also see and understand that it is sanctioned by the general public - or we would do something.
I'd like to get into the superhero genre. I'd love to do either a DC or a Marvel character.
I love emotion. I love being in love. And showing that on screen. I think it's wonderful.
I don't think it should matter to the American people what color skin is on their president. What should matter is the content of their character.
I used to get really jealous of Ron Howard as Opie on 'The Andy Griffith Show' - we were the same age. I would just think, 'God, that little kid can work, and I can't!'
I think I'd make a great superhero. I'm serious. I want to play a superhero, and I've already got one in mind. I think I've still got the body for the costume, and it's something I really want to do.
I took one thing to heart that I heard from Sidney Poitier in 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.' And it resonated so much with me. He says: 'Dad, you always looked at yourself as a black man. I look at myself as a man.'
All of the directors I work with have their own unique gifts.
I like to think I'm multi-faceted. Actually, my favorite roles are roles like in 'Far from Heaven.' Y'know. Soft people. Loving people.
I went through a phase where all I was doing was commercials, and not that it was a bad thing, but I was referred to as 'the Allstate guy' as I was walking the streets. Someone comes up to you on the street, you would like them to know your name.
I've studied theater since high school. Of course, it's a different story altogether being on Broadway, but it's still theater, and you have to be in front of a live audience, and that's very exciting. It's something I've definitely wanted to do, but I got involved in movies and television, and then it became a luxury to get back on the stage.
The bottom line is people are people, and the sooner we realise that, the better off things are going to be.
My father was Catholic, my mom Baptist, so we were raised Baptist but had a lot of Catholic upbringing: fish on Fridays, no birth control.
I've done a lot of different things in my life. I've parachuted, done some deep-sea diving. Inasmuch as it's safe to do, I can do it.
The intolerance of people against other people is growing and growing. And the thing is, this is not anything that's changed. This has been going on for years.
I love romance films, especially between people of color, because we don't really explore that enough. I would love to do that.
When you work on big commercial movies, of course there's more money involved and you can still do some good work. But with an independent, you get films that are really close to the writers' and directors' heart. Somehow it becomes a little deeper. A little more meat and not as much flash.
I played a little basketball, but basketball interfered with theater season. That's when we did our term plays and did nutshell versions of Shakespeare for English classes. And, believe me, I got a fair amount of looks from the guys on the team. 'You're in theater but you can play football?'
I have always thought of myself as an athlete - even at the ripe old age of 52.
There are always different roles and questions to be asked about certain characters.
I've always been a big Western fan.
People want good stories.
All my brothers have my father's voice.
I think the first time 'white' was used was in the 1600s. Generally, we were described by where we came from... All of a sudden, this word 'white' came through, and now everyone is going for their own sense of power... to figure out who's on top.
I grew up in Northern California, and theater is all there was. I didn't know how to go about starting a career when I was 10.
When you're playing a good character, you have an idea that you're playing the hero and the good guy. Actually, I think you're more stymied playing the good guy than you are the bad guy. As the bad guy, you have no inhibitions. Nothing stops you from doing what it is you feel you have to do. You do it because it's what's required.
Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.
If I weren't an actor, I'd either be a teacher or a critic.
Dad worked as a security guard for United Airlines, and Mom was a housewife who cleaned houses to make ends meet.
I knew I wanted to act since I was 10, but I didn't actually start acting until I was in high school. My favorite play was 'Lilies of the Field.'
I pride myself on being limber.
I have children, so I'm constantly worrying about the world they are going to inherit.
It's the chauffeur's outfit from hell, right down to the alligator shoes. I was wearing these alligator shoes and this very interesting and haunting chauffeur's outfit, but what really did it for me was the hat. And then, when I eventually get my eye taken out, the gold eye really brought it home for me.
First of all, I never think of my characters as good or evil. I play them as honestly as I can. When you're playing a good character, you have an idea that you're playing the hero and the good guy.
No matter what you set out to do and how you set out to do it, you ultimately have to be who you are, and who you are as that character. So, I paid as much homage as I could to what Michael Clarke did, and had to rely on my own gifts to guide me through it.
There's part of it when Manute has both eyes. And the character was actually fleshed out a lot more, in this movie. I got to show people who Manute is and why he is and how devout he is. He is Ava's protector and punisher.
All of the directors I work with have their own unique gifts. My particular segment deals with online dating. It's a very interesting take on it, and a great observation of what goes on there.
Being on set and seeing all that green screen, and how it activated my imagination, was amazing to me. I fell into that world very easily, and it was incredible to be a part of.
Europeans have a different take [on nudity] than American actors do. They're not quite as hung up.
I definitely wanted to pay homage to what he did and use his performance in the first one as a foundation. But, I had to make it my own. I couldn't sit there and try to imitate Michael Clarke Duncan. I think that would have been disastrous. I had to make it my own. I tried to take as many nuances that he had with the character and utilize them as best I could, while creating a character that was unique to me. That's going to happen, no matter what.
I knew that they were going to be reading actors for Manute, and I wanted to give it a shot. I wanted a shot to do it, and they embraced that and said, "All right, come on in. Let's see what you've got." So, I went in, and the rest is history. It felt good when I went into the office, and it just worked.
It's really quite an interesting dynamic. I wanted to play to the truth of who Manute was in the first film, while it's also a prequel and the originator [of the story]. It was an interesting dynamic to work with, definitely. I haven't seen the film yet, but the way it felt when I was doing it, it felt like it worked.
Actually, I think you're more stymied playing the good guy than you are the bad guy. As the bad guy, you have no inhibitions. Nothing stops you from doing what it is you feel you have to do. You do it because it's what's required. I have to protect my goddess, as best as I can.
I'd like to get into the superhero genre. I'd love to do either a DC or a Marvel character. I just love the way they're approaching these characters in these films. I also would love to get back into some romantic films. I love romance films, especially between people of color, because we don't really explore that enough. I would love to do that.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm the good guy. I'm doing my job. That's how I look at it. I don't look at it as good or evil. I look at it and say, "I have a job to do. I love this woman. I love the people that I work with. They take care of me. I'm going to do whatever I can for them."
Realizing that my surroundings were going to be built around me, the way that I performed, we helped the directors through the performance, to create the world that we were going to be seen in. I was very fascinated with that.
I took to it very quickly. I'm very imaginative anyway, and it just set off that part of my brain. It made me focus in on the actors a lot more. I didn't have the distraction of looking at my surroundings.
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