The thing with '24' is that because it moves so much, it's a challenge, and sometimes things get revealed about these characters as you go.
— Corey Hawkins
Eric Carter is a more raw, more emotional protagonist. He's a bit of an Everyman.
Yes, I do feel a deep responsibility every time, every character, everything that I do.
Even before I was working off-Broadway, there were lots of different TV shows that I would actually say 'no' to, and my agents would be like, 'Are you crazy?' but they stuck with me because they know the kind of things that excite me.
I'll just put it this way: I've struggled enough as a working actor - and, most of the times, a not working actor - to know that anytime you are working is a blessing.
I like to surprise myself. I like to surprise my fans, too.
My mother's a police officer, so there was only so much trouble I could get myself into. But my father grew up on the other side.
The tension between the Capulets and the Montagues is like a gang rivalry, and that has everything to do with Compton.
I grew up singing, and I played on Broadway to thousands of people, you know what I mean?
You read things, and they come to you, and if they speak to you at the moment and there's a voice in you that says, 'I don't know, that's risky,' or 'That's challenging,' then do it. Run at it and tackle it. And if it's bad, it's bad. You're gonna get over it.
I live in New York.
I'm having way too much fun on 'The Walking Dead.'
While I was filming 'Kong' - and I don't play a very capable Army Ranger in 'Kong'; I play a completely different character - but we had a lot of Army Rangers there, former Army Rangers, and Navy SEALs, who were working on the movie with us for the other characters, for the Army guys in the movie.
I know that people get cast based on how they look in Hollywood.
I'm tired of seeing people dying every day; I'm tired of seeing people go to jail for nothing.
It can't be all serious at all times.
The challenge is making sure that every single moment is honest, no matter what. It's doing Eric Carter justice. Not trying to fill Jack Bauer's shoes. Not trying to step into Kiefer's legacy.
Nothing's out of the realm. I think '24' has always keyed into that.
The idea of a new hero for a new day sang to me.
I know the struggle - trust me. I know how hard it is for us to say 'no' to a lot of things that get offered.
I'm not going to lie to you: I'd prefer not to go to the gym and not to run.
I like being a chameleon and doing things that are just so different that people will be like, 'Oh, that's him?'
There's good cops and bad cops, and the good cops have to hold the bad cops accountable. We have to hold the bad cops accountable, too.
I grew up in D.C.
I got to pick the mind of a genius, and I realized why he was a genius. And I realized the man behind the veil or whatever you want to call it. Do you know what I mean? I got to see what makes Dr. Dre Dr. Dre, and I got to interpret that. It's hard to put it into words, so the only thing I know how to do is put it on the screen.
The only thing that I know how to do as an actor, as a trained actor, is you can't villainize the character you're playing. Whether it's a fictional character or a real character. Because then you operate from that sort of negative point of view, and you can't humanize him.
I'm so OCD about prep work and learning lines and stuff.
I prefer to do in-person interviews, but it's all a part of the job, and I love talking about these movies so much.
Heading out to L.A., doing this acting thing. You can't rest on your laurels out there. You finish a film, you don't know how it's going to do. You're talking about that next job, usually.
I have family that are vets of the military. My grandfather served as well.
If you feel your rights are being abused by the authorities, and you don't say something, sometimes the cops don't know how far to take it. They have a hard job, but at the same time, I think it's just about educating yourself.
Sometimes you just need to raise your voice. And sometimes a little anger is necessary, to be honest.
I think, in our darkest moments, you have to find the humor, and you have to find the lightness.
You know how trends go with television. Next year, the networks might not be open to taking risks.
Sometimes '24' can seem a little grand. Sometimes these things can seem a little outlandish.
So you want to take the risk, and you want to step out there; you do it because that's what we have to do as actors. And sometimes in TV, it becomes big, and it becomes about the entertainment, but also, we have to focus in on the work.
I want longevity in this career.
I'm the guy coming from Juilliard.
I feel immensely blessed - not just that I'm working, but that I'm working on projects that I really care about and like. I've always been that way.
I had my foot in both worlds. I knew what I didn't want, and so I had to make a choice, just like N.W.A. made choices.
It's also crazy how Shakespeare has that cadence, and it's about locking into the jazz of the language, just like locking into the rhythm in N.W.A's lyrics.
It's always weird when it comes to awards and awards season because how can you say that this performance is better than this performance? Art is so subjective.
There's no wrong choice because, whatever you choose, that's meant for you.
With '24: Legacy,' there are a lot of people who are super-excited about the show. But there are a lot of people who are very skeptical.
When it comes to the awards and everything, and the press, the publicity, this is all icing on the cake to me.
If people don't connect to Eric Carter's struggles, I'm sure they'll find a character in this series to connect to. That's ultimately what it's about for me.
We work so hard on our craft, and once we get out of Duke Ellington, there are not going to be people looking for technique. I worry about that a lot.
To be honest, sometimes you have to know your rights.
The only pressure, as an actor, is to step into Eric Carter's shoes and make him as fully and as complex and as flawed and as human as I could.
I have the most utmost respect for the men and women overseas, and I only played a soldier on television. Again, I can only imagine the sacrifices that they make every single day.
