Corey Hawkins

I'm not going to lie to you: I'd prefer not to go to the gym and not to run.

I'm the guy coming from Juilliard.

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 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 like to surprise myself. I like to surprise my fans, too.

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.

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.

I grew up in D.C.

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.

The tension between the Capulets and the Montagues is like a gang rivalry, and that has everything to do with Compton.

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.

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.

I grew up singing, and I played on Broadway to thousands of people, you know what I mean?

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.

There's no wrong choice because, whatever you choose, that's meant for you.

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'm so OCD about prep work and learning lines and stuff.

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.

I live in New York.

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.