My family are police officers, detectives. My brother Mitch is FBI. Mitch is like that - a stern enforcer.

Fear is not one of my attributes.

Stand-up is what I am; stand-up is what made me.

My grandmother always told me how you start is how you finish.

I always wanted to scuba dive. I used to scuba dive undercover like black Aquaman.

I came up in the community center. I used to be physical director of the South Central Community Center in Chicago on 83rd. It's still there. It used to be around there when I was a kid.

Only way you can you get upset is when you expecting something.

It's a pleasure to work with someone who is just as strong as you are.

I want to play a villain - I can't wait to play a villain.

I can act. I've been acting for a long time, but like anything else, don't nobody owe you nothing. You've go to pay your dues. You go from A to Z; you don't go from M to Z.

I know doing movies is where I need to be. That's where my audience wants to see me.

My girlfriend Rhonda, who's now my wife, I graduated from high school, she got pregnant. My grandfather said, 'You've got to do the right thing.'

I don't ever watch myself. By watching, you try to perfect yourself, become a robot.

I've never been no superficial cat.

My daughter was a beautiful child.

I love my daughter, but there's a certain feeling, a certain emotion when you got a granddaughter, you know?

Why do people love Richard Pryor so much? 'Cause he had problems.

Black audiences are hard. They always think they're better than you. So you got to come with a little extra to satisfy them.

I don't think the people wanna see me play Clyde Johnson the architect.

I'm so black, I leave fingerprints on coal.

I love who I am. I love what I've become.

When you're offstage, that's the footprint. That's the man God's gonna judge.

The two sides of Bernie - that's a quiet weapon that I have.

My humor had changed from foolishness to making sense.