When you're playing a superhero, you're almost playing two different people. I separate when I'm playing Jefferson Pierce and the days when I'm playing Black Lightning. Cress Williams More Quotes by Cress Williams More Quotes From Cress Williams There are aspects of small town life that I really like - the routine nature of it, the idea of people knowing you and your likes and dislikes. Cress Williams younaturelifepeople I didn't really know of 'Black Lightning' until I got the script and started to investigate - it wasn't a hero that I grew up with. So I didn't know if his powers were natural or if it was the suit, but those things are, for me, very important. I really like the idea that his powers are his - that whether he has the suit or not, he has them. Cress Williams meblackimportanthero I grew up mainly with my mother, and I would see my father from time to time. But I didn't have a constant male figure. Cress Williams seemothertimefather What's great about acting is that there's never a moment when you're like, 'OK, I got this, I understand this.' You're portraying life, and it's a craft that only gets better with time - kind of like playing a musical instrument: the more you get to play it, the better you are. Cress Williams momentyoutimelife Shooting a season can be a grind. It can be seven to eight months of work. Once you stop, it slows down any momentum you had. Cress Williams stopdownyouwork As a kid, you just like anything fanciful that you're into, but as an adult, I really love that kind of place where the super hero mythos meets life, where it has that human story; that's what I think I was really drawn to when I started getting into the X-Men. Cress Williams youherolovelife Back in the day as a kid, I was really drawn to the Hulk because it just felt so human and was probably one of the first stories that I felt emotionally invested in and not just thought it was really cool. You really feel for that person and put yourself in that situation. Cress Williams yourselfdaycoolyou I love when I get compliments on my shirts all the time. I'm a t-shirt guy, and I think nine times out of 10, they have some kind of super hero character on them. Cress Williams herotimelovecharacter When I get into collecting things, I get a little obsessive. Which is why when I start buying comics, I buy way too many, and I have to stop myself. Cress Williams stopstartmyselfway My first job was television. I got to where I wanted to go, but through a little bit of a detour. When I first started working in film and television, I hated myself - I didn't like what I was doing at all. All I could think of was, 'I'm overacting. Be smaller.' I started to do that, but that was not fun. I felt confined doing film and TV. Cress Williams jobmyselfthinktelevision A lot of times, people believe that until you're a certain-list actor, you say yes to everything; you're not allowed to say no. But early on, something went off in me, and if something didn't ring true for a myriad of reasons, I would say no and was fortunate enough to have people around me that were OK with that. Cress Williams meyoubelievepeople I was a poor kid. I grew up watching film and television but primarily television. And I graduated high school, and I knew I wanted to go to college because nobody in my family had. So I was like, 'I'll go and be a theater major.' Cress Williams nobodyhigh-schoolfamilyschool From the moment I turned 39, 40, I really turned a corner and became a person who really enjoys working out. When I don't get a chance to, I miss it. I also just recognized that it would give me career longevity if I kept myself in the best shape I could possibly be in. Cress Williams bestmyselfmemoment Who I always refer to as my acting mentor when I got into junior college is an acting professor by the name of Tom Blank. He took me under his wing, and he was that strong male figure. He was tough love, but he believed in me, saw everything that I had. Cress Williams namemestronglove Sometimes you got to mess stuff up to get change going. Cress Williams youmesschangesometimes I come from theater, so I'm used to the hierarchy of an actor is just on the ladder, and above that is a director, and above that is a producer, and above that is a writer. But on a television show or film, the whole call sheet thing and being No. 1 on a call sheet, people look to you and almost expect you to exercise this power for good or bad. Cress Williams goodyoupowerpeople Unfortunately, when you look at the amount of comic book heroes out there, minority heroes are few and far between. Cress Williams heroeslookyoubook I'm a big fan of superheroes and fantasy and sci-fi. I have been since I was a child. Cress Williams big-fanbigchildfantasy I realized that being that No. 1 on the call sheet sets the tone. That knowledge, it's important to me that everyone - not just actors, not just myself, but everyone - have a workplace that they enjoy, where they feel respected, that they have creative input, and that they feel is a place that they're excited to go to work. Cress Williams myselfmeworkknowledge I have a history, even going back to my time in college doing plays, of always hurting myself at some point in whatever I'm in. Like, always! And it's usually my own doing and me being rambunctious and going, 'Oh, I can do that better,' or 'Oh, I can do that quicker,' and it results in injury. Cress Williams myselfmetimehistory
