Ashton Sanders

Anything that's outside the standard of the average black male is looked down upon. For me, I wasn't raised playing sports. I was artistic, so that was looked down upon by people in my church, and I was teased for that growing up in school, so it goes both ways.

There are so many stereotypes of how you have to be as a black man, growing up in the community as a man.

I think that's the most important part of doing this job, is learning different personality types. I mean, it's kind of like sociology or psychology in a sense. With that, and with every project I do, I think I'm able to pull something away that further makes me understand humanity in a way I didn't before.

It's awesome that my job is to make people have reactions.

It's really crazy looking back on my bullies or whoever was trying to torment me or tease me, because karma is just, like, crazy.

I bury things in the back of my mind I don't really want to deal with.

I think it's cool to be different. That's what cool is.

I definitely wasn't the kid playing sports. I was super different.

Hollywood is showing respect for all different types of art.

Sometimes people are vulnerable. And that's fine.

I was bullied in elementary to middle school. It messed with my self esteem.

I was skinny and black and didn't play sports. And I was bullied.