I've had the acting bug since I was, like, five. But growing up, I saw how people treated me differently when they knew who my father was, even the stuff I did on the field. Sometimes I'd rush for 100 yards, and the headline would be, 'Denzel's son runs for 100 yards.' That's where the suppression of that bug came from.

The injury that ended my time in football turned out to be serendipitous. I tore my Achilles while training for a pending tryout with the New York Giants, and when it snapped, so did my career, basically. That's what led me to gain the confidence to get into the acting world on my own terms.

Coming from a football background, when everybody is doing their job and operating on such a high level, it only motivates you to do the same.

I was ignorant before I did my research of a lot of African American police officers out there who are doing their job and doing it the right way.

I get scared of a lot of attention. I get scared of the spotlight. And I'm not talking about on the basketball court.

Before competition, I start to question things. I don't know why it happens, but you've got to control it so you don't get too far out of the race.

It was very hard for me to practice and enjoy my tennis, and I didn't know the why, so I worked with psychologists to try and see what was happening. They pushed me really hard.

I wasn't banned from skiing but didn't go much in college because I couldn't afford it, and there just wasn't the time. I played football all winter, then in summer I did track and field and played volleyball.