Romany Malco
You know how many times I have to witness the transition from, 'Oh, get away from that thug,' to, 'Oh, wait a minute, that's the guy from 'Weeds'! Hey, can I shake your hand?'
For me, comedy and drama are all the same thing.
I've lived in Paris. I've lived in the Slovak Republic. I've spent extensive time in England, and I've traveled all over Europe.
I learned early in life that laughter is a great way to diffuse and uncomfortable situation, so I began to use that as a tool, throughout my life.
I'm not really volunteering for no family films. I really like the sweet spot of being able to be edgy and controversial.
I worked for this company that repossessed cars. Sure enough, the day after I quit, they repossessed my car, but that would probably be my strangest job to date. You have to work your way up to become a hardcore repo man.
I had a grandmother who would always encourage me to learn about theater and film.
My experience in the music industry made me very thick-skinned. Your art is something very personal and there's never a shortage of critics when it comes to art.
Nobody knows my name. Nobody knows me at all, but they call me by the character of the last movie that I was in.
I called my managers, and they were like, 'What is Tijuana Jackson?'
My mother is getting up there in age, and sometimes I go visit her in Florida. I cook for all of her friends. Sometimes I have to avoid the table because I do not want to hear what they're talking about.
One of the reasons I moved back to Brooklyn is to get to hang out with the guys I've known since we were 12, 13 years old. Having that sense of community is incredibly important to me.
Racism exists everywhere. So when people act surprised about racism, I'm the one that's surprised.
I started out mainstream and then literally made a conscious decision, like, 'I don't have that core black audience on my side.' And then I literally started looking for projects to get involved in.
I love my job. And I get to work with cool people.
No one can pronounce my name. My name is 'The Black Guy From 40-Year-Old Virgin'.
For me, I never want anyone outside of my immediate family and outside of me to have the power to alter the way that I walk, talk, shop, or date. When you start feeding off of that outside acceptance and accolades, you lose sight of what's actually real. Once you get there, it's kind of hard to double back.
The biggest cardinal sin is not being in the moment, whether in life or on-screen. You owe it to your fellow actor that if they feed you something, you give them an earnest response to what they've said to you as opposed to what you wanted to do before they ever showed up.
The actors have to be able to feed each other and inspire each other.
When I was doing 'The Prime Gig' with Vince, we played around so much that the director separated us like children!
When I did 'Think Like A Man', I would run into people who were acting like it was the first thing I'd ever done. I was at the premiere of 'Think Like A Man,' and people were coming up to me, like, 'Man, you're going to get work after this, bruh.'
One of my biggest lessons in life is, we heal at the speed of our forgiveness.Collection: Life Lesson
Pain is inevitable. It is actually a great opportunity for growth, but when we blame or fail to take responsibility for our suffering, the pain becomes stagnant, and stagnant pain can have a compounding effect if left unchecked.Collection: Pain
Stillness empowers. Being able to detach from all external stimulants - social media, social engagements, TV, alcohol, food, etc. - and face our own silence is an enormous luxury that should not be taken for granted. The most rewarding moments in my life have stemmed from such stillness.Collection: Taken
An unresolved past erodes beauty in the present.Collection: Past
I do not have a daily routine, but each morning, I try to spend an hour in bed, visualizing positive outcomes for my life, health, and career.Collection: Morning
I'm one of those people for whom success is one thing, but significance is another. If I can have both, I'm living the dream.Collection: Dream
Hollywood is running out of money and in order to keep geetting a third financed, you have to rely on overseas funding, and in order to do that, you have to get recognizable names.Collection: Running
I feel comfortable working with people who are secure in themselves and confident in what they do.Collection: People
If you are courageous enough to be still, you are a step closer to becoming empowered.Collection: Becoming
Writing a funny story is one thing. But writing a funny story that inspires others to venture beyond their level of comfort in pursuit of their greater good is what makes me come alive.Collection: Writing
For my lifestyle, I believe in living 10 times below my means. As a result of that, I have the luxury of working only when I'm inspired.Collection: Believe
It's extremely difficult to come across quality material. It's a competitive world.Collection: Quality
The Universe responds to specificity.Collection: Specificity
Consciously or subconsciously, we become slaves to debt and social obligation. As a result, we end up more committed to the minutia and less in tune with the bigger picture: our deepest sense of purpose.Collection: Tunes
My goal in life is to bring to the screen really believable depictions that make you think, "Damn, I have to look within myself."Collection: Thinking
I don't want every fan; I'm interested in fans interested in quality work, authentic archetype depictions.Collection: Quality
Because I came into acting late, my references come from real life. That's my biggest inspiration. It's probably the reason I moved back to New York. I'm just a lot more inspired by real life than I am by depictions of real life.Collection: New York
Education, introspection, self-love and excellence are the only ways to overcome the wrath of ignoranceCollection: Ignorance
Being able to engage my creativity in a way that makes a difference inspires me more than anything.Collection: Creativity
Wanting an honest opinion about my art from someone whose opinion I respect makes me feel vulnerable. It's a great space to be in.Collection: Art
More times than not, my pain stems from an area in which I've been least authentic. The second I identify the source - the area of my inauthenticity - I begin to feel better. This allows me to take complete responsibility for my emotional discomfort, and the awareness enables me to move beyond the blockage. I become energetically unstuck, allowing the pain to pass through me.Collection: Pain
Coming from a background as unique as mine, the first challenge is being able to identify chaos as chaos. For the first half of my life, I interpreted chaos as normal. Today, I am aware that I have triggers: a default way of thinking that is often not relative to the immediate moment. Therefore, in the midst of chaos, I have learned to relinquish all my premature cognitive commitments and become present.Collection: Commitment
For me, comedy and drama are all the same thing. How the comedy ever even started in my life was that moments got uncomfortable and I felt uncertain of what the outcome was going to be, so I found a way to deflect what I was feeling, or what everyone else was feeling, by creating laughter.Collection: Laughter
I'm taking the indie filmmaker's approach to building my career and that approach is developing a relationship with the fans.Collection: Careers
It will be difficult if people can't get past their prejudices; I don't mean Black and White; I mean people automatically assume because a film has a predominantly Black cast, that it is a particular quality of film.Collection: Mean
I like to be challenged and stay true to my archetype. That's something I don't admit of being like in real life and I don't have to be. I always try to understand what would lead an individual to being that way, to being oblivious to the fact that he's somewhat insensitive and scared of commitment, and that psychological journey, and what traumas may have occurred in this person's childhood to bring him to that point.Collection: Real
I'd like to change the depictions of life, love, and adventure under what's known as the typical, overused backdrop of Hollywood.Collection: Love Life
I have the appetite to do different roles that have different backdrops. I'd like to show that there's more to people sitting in cars for reasons other than being police officers.Collection: People
I come from the best era of film I believe; when people were taking chances on films. It's time for us to bring more truth to the story and not necessarily carry a torch for every Black person in America; just tell a story, and a good one too.Collection: Believe