John David Washington

I went to private school, but I've got family from North Carolina.

The nature of a football team means you're relying on 10 other guys. Even then, that doesn't guarantee a win.

If I can inspire one person to actually administer change, to want to inspire change, I will follow that person.

Make America great - to me... it's inclusion. Everybody in America, let's do it together, no matter what color you are. You're American. Let's figure it out.

I hope people will see how harmful words are and how irresponsible we can be when saying the wrong things at the wrong time to certain people.

Spike Lee's been doing it for a long time now. We're all standing on his shoulders.

I've gotten rejected hundreds of times.

Oh, talking about private school, man, I had cornrows, and when I picked 'em out, certain people that didn't look like me always wanted to touch 'em. One time, I just said, 'Yo, hell no.'

Football players are creative when they're in the moment.

I want to be around people that are just as enthusiastic about the process and storytelling as I am.

Football helped me with confidence that I needed. It gave me a sense of independence and earning my own money and my own keep. That's what it served. It gave me the strength to be able to deal with rejection, politics, hard work, and being introduced to pain and embracing what's uncomfortable.

I've failed a lot, you know, in football, and I've gone on a lot of auditions, been told no, been told I'm not right, so I know what failure feels like. It's about the work.