I lost a lot of homeboys growing up, a lot of family, at early ages.

My craft's been rising. I'm a student of the game and I'm still growing.

Growing up in the projects, I've been around music all my life. Marvin Gaye, everything man.

From where I come from, it's gutter, dog. I look back on that and I think, 'That's strong.' Without growing up where I came from, I wouldn't be the man I am today, a strong minded individual.

I was writing a scene where a guy was choking another guy to death. You can go online and type 'chokeholds' and watch scenes where martial artists choke each other out. You can hear what noises they make when they go unconscious, see how their bodies flop and everything. YouTube is amazing for the more detailed stuff.

War is not the only arena where peace is done to death.

Sometimes I take the watch, or I take the shoes, but usually the souvenir is to take the life you had with those directors, or the crew - the camera person, the lighting person. When you finish a film it's like a little death. You had a family for a bit, and you finish the movie and you probably will never see each other again.

Talk to people in their own language. If you do it well, they'll say, 'God, he said exactly what I was thinking.' And when they begin to respect you, they'll follow you to the death.