. >> it's great because inspear kids to pursue their dreams. if i said i wanted to be an actor or artist, that's like saying you want to be a cop or worse because it wasn't cool. if you wanted to an athlete, that was fine and either our a gangster or a cop. now kids are inspired. >> piers: what was your ambition? >> i wanted to be an athlete, and then when i went to -- i was supposed to start high school, and my school didn't have a gym or any sports program whatsoever. that was pretty much it. i was on the streets doing my thing. >> piers: rough though it was and tough, what were the things that you got from that life sometime which have been of benefit to you in the new world na you have? >> well, that real-life experience is so much more powerful, i think, in my job especially as an actor than anything and also in my business approach. i was always a hustler and multi-tasker. even when i was doing stuff and selling drugs, i kept a real job so my mother wouldn't question where i got the money, and how did i get a car the same day i got my lic