With this, I'm holding up a mirror to society, and every aspect of the story actually has a historical precedent.

America can't afford to lose writers of this caliber because they just don't come along that often. The worst of it is that there were probably 10 more plays, but the best of it is that he promised and delivered.

Juan Hernandez was an actor out of New York, but what made Juan so great and what made Omar so great was that they both already knew how to box, so we didn't have to take them into a gym and teach them how to throw a left jab.

I chose him because he really knew how to box for real. Omar is so good that several times boxing trainers and managers were trying to actually sign him to a contact.

Because I killed a guy in real life, and because my character kills a guy onstage, they said I could never do anything this great again. I resented that.

You're 5 feet nothing, a hundred and nothing.