John David Washington Quotes

I haven't done a great deal of it but this was a chance to do more and bring it to that part of the business and even more so, but the fact that it was a black superhero was really the catalyst to me.

I think the lesson is that when you give black voices a platform and the opportunity to tell our story, we will tell good stories just like anybody else.

If we want little girls and young women and people of color to see they have a place in the tech world, it's up to us to make that place for them.

I want to see as many black professionals as possible.

It would be extraordinary if the BBC were to make me the first black 'Doctor Who;' it would be extraordinary.

There needs to be more film directors of colour. They bandy about the word 'diversity' a lot, but when I say 'of colour,' I mean Asian, black - I mean people of all colour. We need to have those voices given the opportunity, not told that their films will not be distributed or will not sell well abroad.

I give a speech to the black freshmen at Harvard each year, and I say, 'You can like Mozart and ice hockey...' - and then I used to say 'golf,' but Tiger took over golf! - 'and Picasso and still be as black as the ace of spades.'

We made history when President Obama appointed Sonia Sotomayor, a proud Latina, the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. And as the President likes to say, 'Every single one of them wasn't just the best Latino for the job, but the best person for the job.'

The roles for South Asians may have increased by a decent number but there has been a negligible change in the quality of these roles. We still have to fight stereotypes. Fortunately, I've had the priviledge of working with people who look beyond the color of your skin.

I'm happy and I'm focused on my work... it's incredible to be able to work with 20th Century Fox and to keep opening doors for Mexicans and Latins in the United States.

I would like to see more films being made with people of color behind the camera and in front of the camera, because the more times at bat we have, the better we get.

We still have to create things for African American women. Just like Tyler Perry is doing it, we can't wait for things to happen; you have to go and make and create roles and go to people.

Not being white has never prevented me from enjoying Luke Skywalker or Han Solo. These are heroes of mine.

If I had seen a black woman play Juliet as a little girl, my idea of my place in the world would have been totally different.

To you people out there, you producers and you network owners and you agents and you creative sparks, please give transgender talent a chance. Give them auditions. Give them their story. Do that.

If you win, if you make money. If you do quality work, then other people of color, whatever color that is, can get in the door.

I always felt that just being an actor is difficult. Being an Asian-American actor doesn't make it more difficult. I see it as an opportunity and a chance to help other Asian-American actors coming along.

Poitier opened the doors to so many artists, not just black artists. There is a line that goes from black to Latin to Asian with regards to roles.

The studios gotta start making more stuff where black folks get quality stuff. But I can't trip about that because I've been making movies for 35 years, and I've played everything from an old lady to a donkey, so I can't be on here talking about, 'They don't give us enough roles' and diversity.

I bring something to the table as a woman; I bring something to the table as a woman of color.

I just happened to be Latino, and like any artist, I was trying to forge a career. If I opened doors for others, that's great, but nobody starts out with those aspirations.

I want to produce untapped voices, find people and help them get their platform.

I wanted to create a culture that allowed my children to see the world differently, if only from a strictly visual perspective: to have a child see a room where half of the people are women and minorities is so powerful. I think everyone wants for their children a world that's better than the one they came up in.

People just can't wrap their heads around two young black women in a major production.

I was surprised by the attention and visibility on me as a black woman CEO. I look forward to the day when this is the norm and not the exception.