Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.

Poetry is almost like my foundation for everything. I almost feel I am a better actor and writer because of it.

I was trying to pay the bills with poems, and it was easy to memorize my poems, because I'd be riding my bike in California trying to memorize them before going on stage at a poetry lounge.

If your character is just out there acting a fool, viewers are gonna say, 'Why am I watching this?' But if he's whispering, 'I don't really want to die,' there's a level of vulnerability cemented in these bad characters.

I've definitely had my moments in relationships where I've been able to say yes, I have been heartbroken, my heart has been broken.

I'm a black Catholic raised in Decatur, Georgia, which was very gang-infested. Then, I went to an all-white private high school and excelled in sports and wrote poetry, then played football at the University of Georgia, minoring in drama.