Top 138 Quotes & Sayings by Mike Colter - Page 2

Before I starred in 'Million Dollar Baby,' I wasn't really a boxer. I just worked hard to learn as much as I could before we were there on set.

The work is done; it is what it is. You do the work, and you hope people like it, and if they don't, don't read it. I don't read reviews. I don't have social media, so I'll stay away from that; it's easy.

I'm a bit bored of going to the gym! I'm like, 'Someone put me out of my misery - I can't do this anymore!'

No, no. I draw the line there. Anything that's going to show an outline of my manhood is not on.

I'm really starting to get bored with myself, doing the same workouts. 'Oh here we go again.' I need someone to crack the whip. I need someone to kick my butt because sometimes I can end up taking it pretty easy on myself.

If you've ever been to Harlem, there's always something playing on the street, and there's this energy that feels different to anywhere else in New York.

Harlem for me is Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Washington, D.C., in one place. You have very significant churches that have had national ramifications. At the same time, you have politics. On top of all that, you have entertainment because you have 70 years of music that came out of here, and if you scratch that, gangsterism happens.

Cops and criminals aren't that different. They just play by different sets of rules. And the lines get blurred. There's no such thing as 'right' and 'wrong.' There's always a grey area. There are always hypocrisies.

If you're not enjoying your work, what's the point?

Some people act like there is so much mystery in getting fit, but the only secret there is to making it happen is time.

Sometimes we just sit around and sit on our hands and don't do anything because it's like, 'Hey, that's not my problem.' You can't do that when you're a superhero.

I am not walking around looking like Luke Cage does at all.

We are in a diversity age. I talk about the lack of diversity for black Americans, but what about the Asian Americans? You don't see them very often. They have a show called 'Fresh off the Boat.' No one is talking about that show. I saw it, and I found that show completely offensive, but I'm not Asian American.

Law enforcement has always had informants and people they've had to deal with, who walk a certain line. They're choosing between the lesser of two evils. They're befriend one person to gain access to another person, who's a bigger fish.

As professionals, we just try to keep the jokes to a minimum, when we're in a certain situation. When we're not doing that, we're joking.

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't have a lot of hobbies. It's not because I don't have interests, it's just that I don't have the time.

The awkward thing is the people in the room besides us. It's not us. It's just the 20 or 30 people that are around on set, who normally wouldn't be on set. That's always interesting.

As an actor you just want to continue to work on things that you like. You can be in this business a long time and consistently working and just be totally artistically unfulfilled.

Things don't happen that fast in real life.

I'm a very un-excitable person. I always take things with a grain of salt, I'm always very even-keeled, and I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

We pride ourselves on all being unique shows.

That's how it works in Westerns: the hero is minding his own business and trying to make a living, but he does something, the villain finds out about it and they have to have a showdown. So it's kind of a Western set to hip hop music.

The primary thing that I enjoy about Luke Cage is that he has a morality about him but it's conflicted. He's never sure what the right move is, but he at least contemplates it. He's a not a rash character. It's that thoughtfulness that I really identify with.

If things are not working out, they just stop going forward.

I respond to women who have their stuff together, who are in charge, who don't need men to do things for them. I want a woman to have her own thing.

My mother wanted to be an actress. She wanted to follow her dreams and she never really got a chance to do that. I feel like I'm following her dream in a way. She's proud of me for doing what I wanted to do, but at the same time, I'm kind of taking up where she left off.

As long as I didn't have to put on the tiara and the chains and the big yellow shirt for the whole series, I was up for anything.

So often, when you're playing the lead in your own show, it is all about you.

I've learned over the years, when someone is complaining or wants to vent and has something they want to tell you, they don't necessarily want you to fix it.

When you take the job, you never think about how many days you're going to take bullets. Sometimes you go on set and you're thinking, "Ah, a day when I don't have to get shot. This is going to be a nice day."

I rarely feel like I'm in chaos, but when I am, I usually [retreat] and try to find the eye of the storm; if I'm still and listen and don't engage, maybe the chaos will subside.

As an actor, I need to get excited about something that I can actually relate to.

Tequila is my drink. It is my favorite alcohol, my favorite liquor because, you know, it's a stimulant and not a depressant. If I go to a party and everyone's been drinking and I don't have time to really "catch up" - I'm not trying to get drunk but I want to feel good - I drink tequila.

I've never really been into doing a lot of social media, but it's a great way for people to talk amongst themselves on a large platform and to have a large conversation with people who also enjoy the same thing.

This show [Jessica Jones] was exploring the aftermath, and that is unique. You're sitting there going, "I know what happens. This is the aftermath." You watch her daily life and how she dealt with people, like new prospects for love or friends that were close to her, but she didn't know if she could trust them or if they were enemies.

History repeats itself over and over again, but most of us have short memories.

I'm actually filming all the time, and I don't have much time to do anything. I've always been that way.

When something tragic happens in the world and I realize that, for the most part, I am powerless to stop it.

In real life, people end up doing things because it's convenient and it works for them. You don't get up every day regretting what you're doing.

The writers are very good about misdirection and changeups, and that's what's great about it. We always think we know what's going to happen and then they throw a curveball that you don't see coming.

I'll get a nice little break, after doing Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Whether I'm in [his show], I don't know, but there's The Defenders.

I respond to powerful women. I'm not intimidated by that, I like that, it's not something I shy away from, so I don't want women who are looking for me to take care of them. To me, that's a turn-off. I respond to strong, powerful, independent women.

We're dealing with that question now, in the media. How does the judicial system work? There's never going to be a clear-cut answer, but it's a conversation and a conflict in the community. It's not a white thing or a black thing. It's a society thing and a culture thing, and we've gotta figure it out.

I guess it's a bit cliche?, but as an actor, I really admire good writing. There are a lot of great ideas out there, but it's the execution that really makes it work.

As an actor, you learn, every time you work.

When you're casting, you get a page or two - just enough to do the scene. Now that you're in the world, you get the whole script.

Auditions are great, and you definitely want to continue to make progress as an actor, you want to continue to see some advancement in your career. But when you get out there, you don't realize how many auditions you have to go on before you actually get work.

Never take anything at face value. Dare to question and seek the truth.

Sometimes you meet someone at an inopportune moment and it doesn't work out, but then you see them again five years later and you're in different places and it's a better time.

As a male, I thought the female voice was so strong, unique, real and accessible to most females. In some way, shape or form, they felt like they could relate to it, on some level, because they went through some form of unspeakable horror like what Kilgrave did to Jessica [Jones]. That, in itself, is something that most people shy away from, even in shows that are on cable or in movies.

Sometimes when you do things right, there's no results.

I like to take a break, but at the same time, I think most actors are not very good at sitting around doing nothing because we like to work.

Jessica Jones is very unique, and we are all in awe of the response from the public. It seems that everyone connected with the character, and we enjoyed shooting it.

I met some people in college and I kept cracking away until someone pointed me in the right direction.

It's a long arc and a long storyline, and I think it leaves us in a great place to see how we interact again, whether that be for The Defenders, Jessica Jones Season 2, or whatever. We'll see. I don't know.

When I find material that gives me a natural yet unique character point of view and has well - developed characters throughout the script, it makes the hairs on my arm stand up.

Never say "never" about anything, because if you do, life has a way of humbling you.

I don't have a routine, but I have used meditation to just decompress and focus.

Luke Cage is using his open hand instead of a closed fist. It's a little disrespectful but it's very effective. Some people call it a pimp slap, we call it smack-fu. He's doing you a favour by hitting you with an open hand. It hurts, it renders you unconscious but you live.

I haven't had ice-cream in a year, although I did have a slice of pizza. People don't realise that when you're shooting a movie it's only three months to get in shape for.