Forest Whitaker famous quotes

03-25-2025

I try to be like a forest: revitalizing and constantly growing.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Trying #Growing #Forests
I try to serve the character all the time; this one took a lot of work and was consuming. It's like climbing up a ladder and sometimes you're afraid to face yourself so you make excuses; you avoid going to the top of the ladder and look in the mirror.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Character #Mirrors #Climbing
Stereotypes do exist, but we have to walk through them.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Stereotype #Walks
I like to play complex characters and the duality, and trying to reach for the light, it's more interesting really. I've gotten to play so many types of guys and I just try to find the humanity in each one of them the best I can.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Character #Light #Play
There was a time in my acting career, where I was trying to figure out if acting was the thing to do. You know? I was always on this journey of trying to learn more about humanity and people - using the characters and situations as guideposts. I could switch up and do another job as long as I'm continuing that same search and that same journey of revealing my connection to humanity and the universe. And directing gives me the opportunity to explore ALL these different lives and their connection to their environments and the people. And I get to connect to the wires of the universe.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Jobs #Character #Opportunity
I do look at that thematic of healing of humanity.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Healing #Humanity #Looks
In every project, I always look for the depth of humanity inside of it. I'm just trying to say if we can help in some way heal the equation with [Afro-Americans] what's going on with us as people.
-- Forest Whitaker

#People #Humanity #Trying
It's a unique experience when you're doing an independent film where you have one person who puts up all the funds to make the film.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Independent #Unique #Film
I stay true, because whatever the project is, I'm still looking for inside of that character.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Character #Stay True #Projects
There's a thing you confront when you're going into something new and you come to this sort of abyss, and then you push yourself. It makes you try different things.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Trying #Different #Push Yourself
It is important to make the best out of every generation.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Important #Generations #Aging
Until film is just as easily accessible as a pen or pencil, then it's not completely an art form. In painting you can just pick up a piece of chalk, a stick or whatever. In sculpture you can get a rock. Writing you just need a pencil and paper.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Art #Writing #Rocks
And God, God who believes in us all. And who's given me this moment, in this lifetime, that I will hopefully carry to the end of my lifetime into the next lifetime.
-- Forest Whitaker

#God #Believe #Next
I really wasn't even sure if I should continue acting. I would like try and figure out if I could be good enough to do it. It was like 10 or 12 years into my career before I felt like maybe I can do it. It was such a different time than now.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Years #Careers #Trying
In a lot of films, they're showing more complete, developed characters of diverse ethnic backgrounds. The larger concern is to be able to tastefully explore the stereotypes, and still move past them to see the core of people.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Moving #Character #Past
My parents moved to Los Angeles when I was really young, but I spent every summer with my grandparents, and I'd stay with my grandfather on the farm in Longview. He was retired from the railroad, and he had a small farm with some cows and some pigs. I remember part of my youth was feeding hogs and plowing fields and stuff, so that's a part of me.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Summer #Pigs #Grandparent
When I was a kid, the only way I saw movies was from the back seat of my family's car at the drive-in.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Movie #Kids #Car
It is possible for a kid from east Texas, raised in south central LA and Carson, who believes in his dreams, commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them and to have them happen.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Dream #Believe #Heart
I care about people. In the end, I think they feel it. It comes across, regardless of the character I'm portraying.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Character #Thinking #People
I can play a man who's despicable. But I'll still look inside him to find a point of connection. If I can find that kernel, audiences will relate to me.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Men #Play #Connections
We have to not just open our eyes to what's going on in other places; we need to open our eyes to what's going on right in front of us.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Eye #Needs
I've always wanted to do characters that would help me find my connection with others and connect all of us together. You always want the energy of the character, the spirit of the person, to enter you.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Character #Together #Energy
The true wealth of a community is measured by how carefully it listens to its women and how sincerely it values their wisdom. Empowering women empowers us all.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Empowering #Community #Wealth
The other night I was walking down the stairs behind one of my daughters. I was tired, and she was goofing around, you know like kids do, doing all this stupid stuff on the stairs. And I was thinking, please just go down the stairs and let's get you to bed. It's after your bedtime. I've had enough for one day. And then I sort of caught myself. I snapped out of it. I was like, 'dude, you should be dancing down the stairs behind her'!
-- Forest Whitaker

#Daughter #Dad #Stupid
I went through two schools of acting but I learned more about acting from meditating and from my marshall arts teacher.
-- Forest Whitaker

#Teacher #Art #Teaching

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