I think, first of all, I don’t think people understand Ice Cube’s body of work. Ice Cube is a, and I hate to use the word ‚urban‘ but – when you think of Judd Apatow, and a person who’s launched so many careers, Ice Cube has done that for so many comedians, you know?

Actors know what actors are insecure about – and they’re all insecure.

A lot of dumb pictures have made a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be anything cinema students will revel over in the future.

‚Recreative‘ is a word that I invented because in urban culture, with colloquialism, we invent so many slangs. I don’t like the way that ‚recreational‘ sounds – I don’t like to say I do a lot of ‚recreational‘ reading. I like to say that I read ‚recreatively.‘ I do a lot of ‚recreative‘ reading.

I know that a large part of my fan base is gay. They’ve shown me love from the start. I mean in this industry, everyone from my glam people to my dancers are gay. You can’t be homophobic in this line of work – I’m a pop star!

Working with a guy like Ice Cube on ‚Ride Along,‘ you learn so much. He’s a guy who produces, writes, and directs, so you watch and learn and ask questions. As you go, you learn and figure out what you should and shouldn’t do. I do nothing but soak up information.

I love making movies, but there’s nothing like performing live.

I came to California and got signed at a young age. And it’s not like you see in the movies, where you start rubbing shoulders with Timbaland and Pharrell, and you become a giant pop star.

Actors are one family over the entire world.

The dominant theory coming out of Hollywood is that peoples‘ attention spans are getting shorter and shorter and they need more stimulation.

Actor’s life is very long.

What I like about Elvis is the same thing I like about James Brown, Michael Jackson, Prince. These guys, back in the day, there was no smoke and mirrors. It was just raw talent. They would step out onstage and command an audience. Talk about awesome.

I stopped watching TV because of ‚The Wire.‘ Like, ‚The Wire‘ ruined everything for me because I don’t even want to watch anything else now.

There’s this lingering philosophy that movie stars shouldn’t do TV.

I now have two different audiences. There’s the one that has been watching my action films for 20 years, and the American family audience. American jokes, less fighting.

It’s no secret that we were sticking just about every nickel we had on the chance that people would really be interested in something totally new and unique in the field of entertainment.

I’ve taken so many kids out of Pittsburgh and onto the great white way in New York City right into a Broadway show.

In Hollywood the woods are full of people that learned to write but evidently can’t read. If they could read their stuff, they’d stop writing.

If I’d married someone in show business, there’d be too much competition.

At the end of the day, I want to be part of the same conversation as Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor.

We were on for six years. We were in syndication for a while. It had its run. I still see the people from ‚Mr. Belvedere,‘ too. We stay in touch.

I came to Hollywood and within a decade I was one of the biggest action stars of all time.

I want to try something different in Hollywood, to tell the audience I am not just an actor star – I am an actor, too.

This film cost $31 million. With that kind of money I could have invaded some country.

The future of American film lies on television.

Doing Saturday Night Live definitely affects my relationship with my girlfriend and with my family, because you feel so much pressure to do well that night. But I think everyone’s grown to accept that and so they give me my space at the show.

It’s very intense to be in front of a live audience. It’s just an amazing experience. It’s dangerous. Everything out there is heightened. The bad stuff is extra-worse. The silences are extra-silent. The good stuff is amazing. It’s electric when you walk out there. For 90 minutes, you’re on this other planet.

At the major studios, you see people wanting to remake a TV series, wanting to make a sequel.

In California, they don’t throw their garbage away – they make it into TV shows.

I’ve seen too many ups and downs in the movie industry.

You know, fame is a funny thing, man, especially, you know, actors, musicians, rappers, rock singers, it’s kind of a lifestyle and it’s easy to get caught up in it – you go to bars, you go to clubs, everyone’s doing a certain thing… It’s tough.

I think the message has already been sent to Hollywood, which is that this kid’s a hard worker, he’s talented, and people are coming out to see him. And when you have box-office results, Hollywood treats you different. Hollywood stands up.

Film is a very tight little box. If you don’t fit in that box, you’re gone. Television, there’s more room to move around.

Only the public can make a star. It’s the studios who try to make a system out of it.

One of the reasons I connect to the Super Bowl is that I approach my shows like an athlete.

I did the Ed Sullivan show four times. I did the Steve Allen show. I did the Jackie Gleason show.

I wanna thank MTV and the VMAs for choosing me to be a part of the show because, on this show, if you not an icon or upcomin‘ icon, you’re not on the show, you know?

I’m not in the loop; I don’t know any actors, really, just the ones I work with.

I’m already the face of the UFC, plus the face of boxing, WWE, and Hollywood.

I laugh all the time – at things, people, stuff, whatever. But, I don’t laugh onstage because then it’s serious business.

If anything, a lot of electronic music is music that no one listens to at home, hardly. It’s really only to be heard when everyone’s out enjoying it.

I know I’m more on television, and I’m more recognisable than maybe even the players because they run and train, but I just stand there, and my face does all these funny things that everyone can see all the time.

Hollywood has a way of making everything seem like an overnight success.

The movies are the only business where you can go out front and applaud yourself.

I’m not a chick-flick enthusiast.

Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.

There’s no difference between movies and television. None at all. Except in a lot of cases, television’s much better than movies.

The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason.

There are no record companies in Waikiki.

I’m always amazed by the people who work on stage who sing night after night, day after day, week in week out.

I personally don’t like to go see romantic comedies. But people do want to see them, and they seem to want to see me in them.

Celebrity is ridiculous and silly and it’s mad that people like me are listened to – you know, rap stars and movie stars.

I’ve always felt toward the slightest scene, even if all I had to do in a scene was just to come in and say, ‚Hi,‘ that the people ought to get their money’s worth and that this is an obligation of mine, to give them the best you can get from me.

Streaming is a really big market for me. We’ve been doing great in the streaming market, so it’s not something I want to alienate at all. Streaming counts now. They’re treating artists the way we deserve to be treated.

Hollywood is not suited for me, and I am not suited for it.

In Hollywood a girl’s virtue is much less important than her hairdo.

In Los Angeles, everyone is a star.

You’ve gotta understand that with branding and the way things are promoted, in our day and age, your older movie stars are not reachable or accessible because they’re not a part of the whole social media world.

If I want to be called ‚The Rock,‘ I’ll be called ‚The Rock.‘ If I want to go back to wrestling, I’ll go back to wrestling.

If I close my eyes and think of Hollywood, all I see is one big varicose vein.

I never called my work an ‚art‘. It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.