I remember 'The Cosby Show,' but that was something completely different. Comedy. There was a lightness to it and a sort of unrealistic perfection.
— Corey Hawkins
We are a diverse people, man.
The rules of engagement are totally different when you're on the homefront.
I knew I wanted to be an artist early on, but I decided to seriously pursue the profession when I auditioned for Juilliard.
Sometimes, as actors, we feel like we want to hold on and control where a character goes.
I sort of have to have a positive outlook.
In television, to be a hero and look like I look, that really stuck with me.
On '24,' you don't have time to emote and deal with stuff, because stuff just keeps happening. Every other minute, there's something crazy that's happening that's threatening this country.
I like doing things that people wouldn't necessarily think I can do.
When somebody says, 'Do you want to play Dr. Dre in a movie?' I mean, how do you respond to that? My initial response was 'no' because I don't think I can do it ,and I don't want to be the one to mess it up!
In 2001, terrorism was fought in a completely different way.
What everyone loved about '24' is still there - the clock, the tick, the lean-in factor, the pacing.
I didn't grow up seeing faces of patriots, emotional and raw and gritty, who looked like me.
Growing up, we never got to see a hero who didn't have superpowers who looked like us, that you could kind of look to and say, 'I could be that guy one day. I could be a patriot. I could be a soldier. I could work in the government and be a hero.'
I like being the underdog.
I'm a very private guy, so it's an adjustment for me, but a welcomed one, as long as the work remains the focus.
I have members of my family who are in the military. I have friends who are in the military. Classmates who served in the military.
I remember seeing the first episode of '24' when I was 13, and to be that face for a 13-year-old and open up that possibility, it shows you the world isn't on fire. There's possibility there.
If the challenge wasn't there, there's no reason to say 'yes' to the role.
