Ving Rhames Quotes

I'm from New York, and yet I've done only one film executive-produced by Spike Lee and have never done a film that Spike Lee directed. I've never done a film that Keenan Wayans has directed, or Bill Duke.

- Ving Rhames

New, Directed, Bill, Duke

You get Don King's point of view in what is almost a Shakespearean, classical technique. He comes across almost like a lovable rogue, like Iago in 'Othello' or Richard III. He's doing all these bad things, but I kind of like him. It's like 'Pulp Fiction': Everybody's a bad guy, yet you like them.

- Ving Rhames

Doing, Bad, Everybody, III

I can always do theater; I can do Ibsen, I can do Macbeth, I can do Chekhov, I can do Moliere, Othello, I can do Richard III.

- Ving Rhames

Always, Richard, Othello, III

The more versatile you make yourself, the more work you get. Training makes you more versatile and ultimately gets you more work. Julliard taught me that.

- Ving Rhames

Work, More, Makes, Versatile

The training at Juilliard School is classical training, and it really makes one very versatile.

- Ving Rhames

School, Very, Juilliard, Versatile

How do you cut off the human side and just maintain being professional? So what I've done is I've incorporated that with Kojak - there's times when he allows the human condition, the human experience, to integrate into him as a professional.

- Ving Rhames

Human Condition, Cut, Integrate

When I look at the world, I recognize that unfortunately, it sometimes takes an atrocity like 9/11 to force us to come together.

- Ving Rhames

Sometimes, Like, Atrocity

Quite honestly I never had a desire to be an actor. I tell people, I did not choose acting; acting chose me. I never grew up wanting to be an actor. I wanted to play football. In about 9th grade an English teacher told me I had a talent to act. He said I should audition for a performing arts high school so I did on a whim. I got accepted.

- Ving Rhames

Play, Wanting, Whim, Chose

I was more interested in playing sports than acting. I didn't take acting too seriously until the end of my junior year.

- Ving Rhames

Sports, Year, More, Junior

Quite honestly I never had a desire to be an actor. I tell people, 'I did not choose acting; acting chose me.' I never grew up wanting to be an actor. I wanted to play football.

- Ving Rhames

Play, Desire, Wanting, Play Football

Don King is as American as apple pie. He is America.

- Ving Rhames

King, Apple, Don King, Apple Pie

I spent three days with Don King, and I interviewed 45 people. I studied his speech, his mannerisms. He invited me to a couple of fights, and I watched him.

- Ving Rhames

King, Couple, Mannerisms, None

I grew up in Harlem, and the kids used to tease me. You know that song 'Bingo'? Well, they used to sing, 'V-i-n-g-o, and Vingo was his name-o.'

- Ving Rhames

Song, Used, Grew, Tease

Since God is the foundation of my life, anything that streams from that can only be positive.

- Ving Rhames

Foundation, My Life, Only, Streams

I graduated on a Friday. By Monday, I was doing Shakespeare in the Park.

- Ving Rhames

Doing, Graduated, Friday

A lot of times, scripts are written so the character is all one way. Even with 'Bringing Out the Dead,' the character was written a little more generic.

- Ving Rhames

Dead, More, Way, Scripts

You don't have to make, you know, $3 Million dollars a movie, or $20 Million dollars a movie, but if you make a living doing what you love doing, then that's success to me.

- Ving Rhames

Love, Doing, Living, Million Dollars

My approach to the work is the same, whether I had the lead or a supporting role. I consider myself a character actor in the true sense of the word. Unless I'm doing my autobiography, I'm playing a character.

- Ving Rhames

Doing, Role, Had, Supporting Role

The character of the computer whiz is not one that would normally be associated with me.

- Ving Rhames

Character, Computer, Would, Normally

I think quite a bit of organized religion has become big business. Jesus Christ never sold the word of God. He never gave a sermon and then said, 'For $8.99, you can buy the CD.'

- Ving Rhames

Big, I Think, Buy, Big Business

I try to base my life on the principles of Christ. I try to raise my family on the principles of Christ. I don't know if that makes me religious.

- Ving Rhames

My Life, Christ, Religious, Base

If someone's intimidated by me, that's something they have to deal with. When I walk down the streets of New York and an old woman grabs her purse when I pass by, I'm not going to give it a whole lot of energy because I'm not in the wrong. I'm a millionaire, and I'm not thinking about grabbing an old woman's purse.

- Ving Rhames

Woman, Deal, Streets, Grabbing

I grew up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood, but I didn't really know I was a deprived, poverty-stricken child until the media made me aware of it.

- Ving Rhames

Media, Made, Grew, Neighborhood

I don't know if I hadn't grown up poor, and in the neighborhood I did, if I would have had that much to bring to my art form. I call upon my past with characters.

- Ving Rhames

Art, Past, Bring, Neighborhood

I've known Laurence Fishburne for about twenty years.

- Ving Rhames

About, Known, Laurence, Twenty

My wife is a former homicide detective, LAPD. The wonderful thing that I was able to capture is my wife's experiences from human and professional, and how do you deal with some of the atrocities that happen in L.A. and not bring them home.

- Ving Rhames

Some, Deal, Bring, Homicide

Rottweilers are victims of a stereotype. They're not that bad.

- Ving Rhames

Bad, Victims, Stereotype

I think God has blessed each of us with at least one gift. So I think it's a matter of do we find it within our lifetime.

- Ving Rhames

Gift, Think, I Think, At Least One

Since I graduated college, all I have ever done for a living was acting.

- Ving Rhames

College, Living, Ever, Graduated

I graduated college in 1983, so that's 32 years, and all I've done for a living is act or commercials or voiceovers. So I have nothing to complain about.

- Ving Rhames

College, Living, Commercials, Graduated

God has blessed me with a certain amount of presence and a certain amount of charisma.

- Ving Rhames

Blessed, Me, Amount, Presence

Really, if you get in the ring and box with someone for real, I don't think it is a sport. As far as professional fighters, you are literally putting your life on the line.

- Ving Rhames

Think, Ring, Putting, Fighters

I don't need dialogue to convey emotion or thoughts to my audience.

- Ving Rhames

Thoughts, Audience, Emotion, Convey

I'm the spokesman for ADT, and ADT, brother, pays better than most actors make on film.

- Ving Rhames

Better, Most, Spokesman, Pays

I saw that crime pays, but I never got involved in crime.

- Ving Rhames

Never, Involved, Saw, Pays

My brother and I slept on the couch. I didn't get my own room until I was in college. We didn't even have a telephone until I was in college.

- Ving Rhames

College, Own, My Own, Slept

The more you do a stunt, the more you increase the risk of something happening.

- Ving Rhames

Risk, More, Stunt, Increase

I do fish, and as a matter of fact, I used to do a lot of deep sea fishing, but as far as going into the water, I don't go out deep into the water.

- Ving Rhames

Deep, Fact, Going, As Far As

'Mission: Impossible' is fun. But for myself as an artist, I'm really more concerned with the human condition, the human experience, especially from an African American point of view.

- Ving Rhames

Artist, African American, Human Experience

There's really not that much difference between you and I. And my name really doesn't matter. Hopefully, my heart and my spirit matters to you. Hopefully.

- Ving Rhames

Spirit, Matter, Really, Hopefully

I like to say that I didn't choose acting - acting chose me.

- Ving Rhames

Me, Say, Like, Chose

I'm a God-fearing man, and I know the only reason why I am here going from poverty to where I am now is God has His hand on my life. I tell people, 'I didn't choose acting; God chose me to act.'

- Ving Rhames

My Life, Reason, Here, Chose

I've always been taught to just play the truth of the situation. If comedy comes out of that, or drama, whatever comes out of it, at least I'm playing the truth of the moment-to-moment reality.

- Ving Rhames

Play, Always, Been, Situation

All I want and all I even ask of people in Hollywood is look, just be honest with me. Please don't lie to me. Whatever the situation is, be honest with me.

- Ving Rhames

Lie, Want, Hollywood, Situation

Using the Africanist model, each generation should take the family name to a higher place. My father's folks were sharecroppers in South Carolina. He went to Harlem. They were still poor, but they moved up. If my parents didn't do this and offer me this background, I wouldn't be here.

- Ving Rhames

Father, Here, South, Higher

When I think of the trials and tribulations that black men go through in America and that black artists went through, I feel very privileged.

- Ving Rhames

Think, Through, Tribulations, Trials

I saw how, when my brother smoked reefer, it made my mother cry. He was 16 at the time. And I saw that she broke down and cried. I never wanted to hurt my mother, so I kept away from drugs.

- Ving Rhames

Down, How, Away, Hurt

I was never a struggling actor, for which I feel very blessed.

- Ving Rhames

Never, Actor, Which, Struggling

I really feel that there are things in the ocean that we have no idea about.

- Ving Rhames

Ocean, Idea, Things, No Idea

The only difference between working on a huge-budget film and a lesser-budget film, is the quality of lunch and dinner.

- Ving Rhames

Lunch, Only, Only Difference, Dinner

I think there's so much we don't know and the unknown in the ocean; every 10 years or so, we find some fossil that's been there before mankind.

- Ving Rhames

Think, Some, Been, Unknown

There could be some unknown actor who's a better actor than Ving Rhames, but no one knows that actor, so Ving Rhames will get the job.

- Ving Rhames

Will, Some, Better Actor, Unknown

I find early jazz to be the most revolutionary music of its time.

- Ving Rhames

Music, Find, Most, Revolutionary

Entertainment is needed, and so I do think escapism is needed.

- Ving Rhames

Think, Entertainment, Needed, Escapism

I grew up in Harlem in New York, very rough, urban environment, and so what I found is that, if I can have kids travel to different places, countries, areas, it can expand their minds.

- Ving Rhames

I Can, Very, Rough, Expand

Miss Goodblatt would call on me to read. She said I had a talent. So on a whim, I auditioned for the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan.

- Ving Rhames

Performing, Whim, Read, Miss

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, I saw something - I don't know what it was to this day. My mind couldn't relate to what it was... If I saw it and knew it was a shark, I wouldn't be as afraid, but I saw something that looked prehistoric, and I haven't been snorkeling since.

- Ving Rhames

Mind, Shark, Been, Since

In about 9th grade, an English teacher told me I had a talent to act. He said I should audition for a performing arts high school, so I did on a whim. I got accepted. Then I got accepted at the Julliard School, and by then, I was serious about it.

- Ving Rhames

About, Had, Whim, Grade

I find it so strange that I throw people off-center.

- Ving Rhames

People, Strange, Find, Throw

Most American actors are taught the Stanislavsky method... Method acting, but I really think that as an actor you have to develop what works for you. There is really not one way of doing anything. There are many ways of achieving the same goal.

- Ving Rhames

American, Doing, Works, Achieving

God is putting me in a position to affect people.

- Ving Rhames

Me, Affect, Putting, Position

We're all about trying to teach the kids life through basketball.

- Ving Rhames

Trying, Teach, Through, Basketball

My dogs are family dogs.

- Ving Rhames

Family, Dogs

'Mission: Impossible' is basically entertainment, and for what it is, it's fine. I don't think most actors become actors to do that type of film.

- Ving Rhames

Think, Film, Entertainment, Basically

It's really how you deal with people. Do people respect you? Are you honest with people even if it's something they don't want to hear? Anyone in Hollywood will tell you I'm extremely up front and honest almost to a fault.

- Ving Rhames

Deal, Hollywood, Almost, Fault

Rosewood is what Americans did to Americans. We have to hold the mirror up... and look at ourselves. Sometimes that's an ugly sight. And sometimes you have to go through that pain - both black America and white America - so we can finally find some racial harmony.

- Ving Rhames

Harmony, Through, Some, Ugly

I try to allow the spirit of the character to live through me. That's the only way I know how to approach acting. I have to live it.

- Ving Rhames

Spirit, Through, Allow, Approach

For me, acting was a way of releasing all of this stuff that I had inside - and a way for me to tell the stories of the people I knew, so that their spirit could live through me.

- Ving Rhames

Through, Could, Stories, Releasing

I never grew up thinking I wanted to be a quote-unquote star or anything. My thing was just feeling blessed to be able to make my living acting.

- Ving Rhames

Living, Star, Feeling, Blessed

Are you intimidated by me? Because if you're intimidated by me, that's something you'll have to deal with.

- Ving Rhames

Me, Deal, Because, Intimidated

People often think I've played the villain more times than I have.

- Ving Rhames

Think, More, Times, Villain

I've always been interested in cross-cultural exchange with the youth.

- Ving Rhames

Always, Been, Interested, Exchange

I don't give Hollywood the power to limit me. Only God can limit me.

- Ving Rhames

Me, Give, Limit, Hollywood

I live a very simple life.

- Ving Rhames

Simple, Live, Very, Simple Life

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