"I had to focus and create a character in Bagger Vance, not just do my 'Will Smith' thing and get paid."
"My skin is hard when it comes to my music. But with my movies, I'm still a virgin in a lot of ways. I'm not used to being shot down for no reason."
"You can cry, ain't no shame in it."
"Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too."
"There's so much negative imagery of black fatherhood. I've got tons of friends that are doing the right thing by their kids, and doing the right thing as a father - and how come that's not as newsworthy?"
"Money and success don't change people; they merely amplify what is already there."
"It's quite highly possible that I have peaked. I mean, I just can't imagine what else I could do beyond this. It's really a bittersweet kind of feeling."
"In my mind, I've always been an A-list Hollywood superstar. Y'all just didn't know yet."
"If it was something that I really committed myself to, I don't think there's anything that could stop me becoming President of the United States."
"I don't know what my calling is, but I want to be here for a bigger reason. I strive to be like the greatest people who have ever lived."
"Well, all I know is what I read in the papers."
"I try to speak my points of view about black America, and how I feel about black men and the role that black men should play in their lives with their children and in their lives with their women."
"A rapper is about being completely true to yourself. Being an actor is about changing who you are."
"I love being black in America, and especially being black in Hollywood."
"If you're not willing to work hard, let someone else do it. I'd rather be with someone who does a horrible job, but gives 110% than with someone who does a good job and gives 60%."
"In black neighborhoods, everybody appreciated comedy about real life. In the white community, fantasy was funnier. I started looking for the jokes that were equally hilarious across the board, for totally different reasons."
"The things that have been most valuable to me I did not learn in school."
"The first step is you have to say that you can."
"When you create art, the world has to wait."
"I've never really viewed myself as particularly talented. I've viewed myself as slightly above average in talent."
"And where I excel is ridiculous, sickening, work ethic. You know, while the other guy's sleeping? I'm working."
"I had a hit single on the radio for 30 days before I graduated from high school."
"The first time that I performed as an actor was the first day on the set of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.'"
"I think with movies I am really connecting to the Joseph Campbell idea of the collective unconscious."
"I don't necessarily believe in organized religion."
