Joe Morton

For all of the diversity in 'Scandal,' no one else would be sitting in a room wearing a T-shirt and chains and call a Southern white Republican president a 'boy.' And it's those kinds of things that Rowan has the freedom to say that nobody else could say within the confines of the show.

Being back on stage in New York, off-Broadway - I mean, that's an actor's dream.

I have lots of hopes for black actors in general, whether they be on TV or on stage or in movies, and that is that we move beyond the tokenism of what it means to be black in a particular set of circumstances.

Television has been really good to me in terms of the roles I've been able to get on TV as opposed to the roles I've gotten in film and in theater.

I don't know of any actor in any television show that I have ever seen who's given monologue after monologue in a television series.

The argument for '12 Years a Slave' was that - yes, it's a beautiful film. Beautifully shot, beautifully acted. It's a real story, and these stories should be told. The problem is, if they're the only stories being told, then it makes Americans of African descent - it puts them into that victim category. And that was my problem with the movie.

There's nothing better than an educated actor - not only educated in his craft but educated in the world.

I've never liked much of reality television, mostly because it involves humiliation.

I entered Hofstra University as a psychology major.

I actually went to the university as a psychology major, and at orientation, they took us around the campus and took us to the theater for a skit. At the end of the skit, I literally could not get up out of my seat.

Without mentioning any names, there was a film that was being done, and I ran into the producer on the plane. It was a book that I really, really loved, and I said, 'I'd love to be a part of this.' And they made it clear that that was not going to be possible - for no particular reason other than that there was just no part for a black person.

When was the last time you saw a straight black love story without any guns?