I was going to be the head wrangler at a ranch in Wyoming, and the reason I didn't take the job is because I couldn't have my family there - the family had to stay in town. I just wasn't willing to do that.
I'm originally from Hobbs, New Mexico but moved around a lot growing up. My family had a ranch 40 miles from town where they raised cattle and sheep. Shortly after I was born they sold the ranch and my father went to work in the oilfields.
It was always inevitable that if you get serious trouble in any family then everybody's inclined to look at the head of that family and see if they see any cause or reason to associate it with the head of the, head of the family, why it should be.
What's the reason I'm playing basketball? I do it because I love it, I do it because of my family, and that's it. I don't do it because of the money. I don't do it because of the fame. I just do it because I love it, and I do it for my family because my family enjoys it.
My parents moved from ranch to ranch, valley to valley, town to town, but our roots in Fowler never really faded. For me, it's a place of history, stories and songs, not just facts and figures.
When people were very concerned about the violence against women, I encouraged people to stick with it because it was going somewhere and there was a reason why. It's all a commentary on gender roles and women and having to be the damsel or to stay on the ranch or to stay at home.
I just think my family is so normal, but no one wants to accept that. I find my family to be normal because there's an understanding of what every job entails. And it is a job. It's not this fantasy that Hollywood and movies are all glitter and stardust.
I love working with family and friends because, as an actor, it makes my job easy. I feel comfortable with all of these people, and I feel more willing to take risks.
Trouble comes looking for you. Lots of times I just stay in the house and enjoy my family. I try to be a father to my child, I'll stay out of trouble if I can, because I have lots to do. Other folks have different hardships. It's hard for a black man to raise a family.
Stay strong. Stay true to yourself and to who you are because there is community out there. It may not be in your town or perhaps even in your family, but you are wanted and you are loved and there are places in the world where you will be safe and supported.
I had to take that time off just to get my mind back refocused and just talk to my family and be around my family so I can feel that love and support.
My family was very notorious in the town that we lived in. Everyone would say, 'There goes those damn Sams.' I didn't want to paint that ill picture of me. I knew the good in my family. They didn't know our background and the adversity we had to endure. I wanted to succeed and be a beacon of hope in my family.
No work-family balance will ever fully take hold if the social conditions that might make it possible - men who are willing to share parenting and housework, communities that value work in the home as highly as work on the job, and policymakers and elected officials who are prepared to demand family-friendly reforms - remain out of reach.
I also call my family and see what's going on with them before I start my day with interviews, rehearsals, or anything else. I just want to do everything well and still be there for my husband and children. I am so grateful for my family because they are so understanding. I can't take all of the credit; it's a team effort.
Family dramas are tough, as a playwright. Most stories are about characters going on a trip or a new character coming to town, because that's how you learn information about them. But with family, they all know each other already. There's years of history in every interaction.
It was hard saying goodbye to the 'iCarly' family just because we have become such a family, but I do get to see them all the time, and I stay in touch with them.
I realised that being a mother is similar to being an entrepreneur. You set up a system that is your family and you invest... you take risks and you actually have the most important job of rearing up the future of not just your family or an individual, but of the entire world. That is a tough and risky job.