Michael B. Jordan: Working with [Kyle Chandler] in the scene was like...

I'm a professional at what I do. I'm an actor. I've been on enough movie sets to know the difference between a stage light and an apple box. I know the difference. Why? Because I've been around it long enough and I know.

Michael B. Jordan

apples differences light

I'm a professional at what I do. As a police officer you're a professional at what you're supposed to do. You should know your equipment well. You should know the difference between a taser and a handgun.

Michael B. Jordan

tasers police differences

My mother's in my life, but at the time you imagine your mom passing away, not being there ... as a kid you try to think of something that hurts you the most ... It was just a tool [in "Hardball"].

Michael B. Jordan

mom hurt mother

In terms of experience with the police, everybody got those. It's such a reality.

Michael B. Jordan

police term reality

You substitute certain things from your own personal life to get you to that mental place and that emotional state. At that time [Brian Robbins] went for the home run, the grand slam [in "Hardball"].

Michael B. Jordan

emotional home running

You see somebody like me, as young as I was at the time, driving around the inner city of Newark, and to them [police] it doesn't make sense. I've been illegally searched [and had] my car illegally searched. [I've] been handcuffed for no reason. You get in enough of those situations.

Michael B. Jordan

car police cities

That's probably why my face was looking so crazy when I was crying [in "Hardball"] because it was some real.

Michael B. Jordan

crazy real faces

Now I like to think that I'm in my character's head so much that I don't have to substitute. I'm in the moment; I'm living in the moment. And if it's genuine, it's real, and if it comes out it comes out.

Michael B. Jordan

real character thinking

Now if I cry on screen I think it's mint. Because I think that's how that person would feel at that time. And if it doesn't, then it just doesn't happen.

Michael B. Jordan

mint cry thinking

I can't sing worth a lick, so I don't know if I would be allowed in the ["The Mickey Mouse Club"].

Michael B. Jordan

mickey clubs would-be

Honestly, I'm a firm believer in the next generation of filmmakers. It's very important to keep things fresh, new, current. They have a pulse on what's important today.

Michael B. Jordan

pulse generations important

The fact that there aren't an abundance of African-American males that are getting lead roles [and] that are getting roles that have prominence on the big screen. [It's] the same thing from behind the camera; maybe even worse. Coming up, when you're black and you want to direct somebody says, "Oh, you're Spike Lee" or "You're John Singleton."

Michael B. Jordan

african-american black want

As an actor, you never want to feel like a tool. You never want to feel like, "Hey, just come here, say this, stop here, look this way," and that's it. You want to have a little input.

Michael B. Jordan

hey tools looks

I want to look at my audience and see all walks of life. I want to do something for everybody.

Michael B. Jordan

walks want looks

As I grow and get older, mature a bit, and work on my big boy voice a little bit, I definitely want to direct.

Michael B. Jordan

voice want boys

In many ways for black actors there's been two leading guys: It's Will Smith vs. Denzel [Washington].

Michael B. Jordan

black guy two

For AXE to take a chance on me and to help me, you know, collaborating with them was just a really, really big deal for me. It shows that they bought into me and vice versa so it's a good relationship.

Michael B. Jordan

good-relationship vices helping

I've always been a fan of AXE and when I heard about their new product and they sent it out to me for me to try and smell and I was like, oh man. It's hard for me to talk about something I don't care about or I'm not really into but once I tried it out for myself I was like, wow okay I can get into this [ collaboration].

Michael B. Jordan

smell trying men

[Kyle Chandler] taught me how to listen very well and reacting. There's a lot of improv. And to be able to do that on the spot you really have to be in tune with what the other person is saying instead of just waiting for your cue line or waiting for a word for you to deliver your next line.

Michael B. Jordan

lines tunes waiting

When I hear people comparing Mike's [Jordan] work to Denzel [Washington] I think it's amazing.. Because Denzel is such an amazing, textured actor. And I think that that comes with Mike too. I'm not thinking about how they look, though; I'm thinking about what they're able to accomplish.

Michael B. Jordan

jordan people thinking

Working with [Kyle Chandler] in the scene was like playing tennis. You work with really talented actors, I think they make other actors look really, really good.