You have to be up-front from the very beginning about what your expectations of the other person are, and you can't make any promises you don't intend to keep. Jesse Williams beginexpectationfront Change image and share on social
Blackness is not a monolith. We are not homogenous people; we are not all the same. Jesse Williams blacknesshomogenousmonolith Change image and share on social
I thought that if acting didn't work out, I'd have done law school or medical school: probably law to be honest. Jesse Williams acthonestlaw Change image and share on social
I'm very grateful and fully aware that 90 percent of actors are not working. Going from public school teacher to a show like 'Grey's Anatomy', I love what I do. Jesse Williams actoranatomyaware Change image and share on social
That's why the role that I have on 'Grey's Anatomy' is important to me, because it's a human being. He doesn't have to wear race on his sleeve; he doesn't even have to talk about it. We just lead by our actions. Jesse Williams actionanatomygrey share on social
As an actor, you want to be able to move your character forward into new ground, but also it's really interesting to go backwards and unpeel those layers and the interesting elements of what your character is and what informs the decisions that you make so that you can have as much meat to work with. Jesse Williams actorbackwardscharacter share on social
I'm kind of in a middle space, being marketed as a biracial actor. Roles are written either stereotypically black, or they're written 'normal,' which is just code for white. Jesse Williams actorbiracialblack Change image and share on social
I grew up in a really horrible school system, but my parents did not let that define how we function. They gave me more work at home from them than I ever got from school. To learn about the history of myself and my people, and that armors me. Jesse Williams armordefinefunction share on social
We as men, in particular black men, are constantly supported, nurtured, forgiven, apologized for, led, followed and coddled by black women, and they get very little in return. Jesse Williams apologizeblackcoddle Change image and share on social
There's so much material out there that's unnecessarily racist. It takes a shot at what is 'urban' or demonstrates blackness with some sassy, neck-jiving character that's not even relevant to the plot. I see it time and time again, and it doesn't move the story forward. It just kind of cryogenically freezes us in this old racial paradigm. Jesse Williams blacknesscharactercryogenically share on social