Actors From South Africa

"I learned so many things at The Daily Show, I'm eternally grateful for them... but I also would like to learn more things? Even in the years I haven't been there, I've re-learned and re-remembered that politics isn't a binary. It's not blue and red, that's an illusion. There aren't two ideas for every problems, that's fake. There are a multitude of ways to discuss any issue and any topic. But if you stay in one place for long enough, then in a good way and in a bad way, you start to perceive that as reality. [...] All my friends that are South African were trapped in South Africa, couldn't leave, couldn't come to me, I couldn't go to them. Couldn't see my family. And I wasn't even big on that, it's not even that I was like "Oh, I've gotta go home to see my family," I just go when I'll go. But now, I realized, I was like, wow! This is just-- again, it's fleeting. And I had to ask myself "Trevor, what are you trying to achieve in your life? Where do you want it to go? Where do you want it to end, y'know? What's more important to you? The ratings on the success of this show and this idea, or the ratings on the success of your friendships and your relationships?""

"I hear people all the time go like "I'm gonna put my head down and I'm gonna crush it!" Okay, alone? Good luck."

"[Interviewer: When you say you "wouldn't be here" with me, what do you mean by that?] You wouldn't be calling me here to have an interview with me, because I wouldn't have done the things that I've done. Because I couldn't have done them alone. Because nobody could have done them alone. Nobody has done the things they've done alone, you know? Like, everyone-- I've seen people tell these stories of climbing Mount Everest and Maya-san, and-- Yo, all those sherpas that went with you, let's talk about them. No one's climbing Everest alone! No one's discovering, y'know, the, the South Pole alone! No, you weren't! In fact, the guy who first navigated the South Pole was led there by somebody, you know what I mean?"

"I think sometimes it's hard for us to think about the possibility of a better future because we haven't lived in it."

"Laughter is strange in that if we think of all the emotions that we're able to express or feel, one of the things about laughter that's particularly interesting to me is it's one of the few emotions that robs your pain of its power."

"I felt like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it was, like, the weirdest thing ever. I just came for a tour, I just wanted some of the Wonka bars and then the next thing, I'm, like, managing the Oompa Loompas. I'm like "Aaah! I don't know how this works, this is crazy!""

"(What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?) Books about self-esteem and depression."

"I always believe that funny is serious and serious is funny. You don’t really need a distinction between them. If I’m doing something on stage and it evokes an emotion, then I might show that emotion, but I also don’t believe in being a preacher. If you have a point, that’s a bonus. But the funny has to come first, otherwise you shouldn’t call yourself a comedian."

"Every single one of you, whether you like it or not, is a bastion of democracy. And if you ever begin to doubt your responsibilities. If you ever begin to doubt how meaningful it is, look no further than what's happening in Ukraine. Look at what's happening there. Journalists are risking and even losing their lives to show the world what's really happening. You realize how amazing it is. Like in America, you have the right to seek the truth and speak the truth, even if it makes people in power uncomfortable. Even if it makes your viewers or readers uncomfortable. Do you understand how amazing that is? I stood here tonight and I made fun of the President of the United States, and I'm going to be fine. — I'm going to be fine, right? Like, do you really understand what a blessing it is? Maybe it's happened for so long that you — it might slip your mind, it's a blessing. In fact, here — ask yourself this question. Honestly ask yourself this question: If Russian journalists, who are losing their livelihoods ... and their freedom for daring to report on what their own government is doing. If they had the freedom to write any words, to show any stories, or to ask any questions. If they had, basically, what you have, would they be using it in the same way that you do? Ask yourself that question every day. Because you have one of the most important roles in the world."

"…I like to think that I am the product of a world of impossibilities. You know, my mother is where she should have never been. I think my mother made greater leaps than I have ever made. It's just that her leaps were made within her world and so maybe don't seem as grand. But I think my family, myself, my country, we come from a place where we have achieved the impossible…"

"Growing up as a young boy in Wakanda, I would see King T’Challa flying over our village, and he would remind me of a great Xhosa phrase: Abelungu abazi ubu ndiyaxoka, which means: ‘In times like these, we are stronger when we fight together than when we try to fight apart.’"

"The weird thing is, I always say to people, "When you're poor, being poor sucks. But being poor together makes it a lot better." Right? Because you're in it together. And it doesn't discount the fact that you don't have much. But then you start to enjoy the things that you do have. And that is each other. And so we laughed. We enjoyed ourselves. We had something that sometimes you don't have when you have too much. And that is the ability to focus on the human beings around you."

"I think the most important thing is to instantly give them a sense of who you are and how you feel in that moment. If a speaker is nervous and tells the audience that, people immediately contextualize it and respond accordingly. If a performer is in a good mood or feeling wild and crazy and says so, I’ve found, the crowd will be good at matching that energy. So for me, the rapport is built by a genuineness conveyed as quickly as possible."

"For any comedian, your life informs your point of view, the way you see the world. My comedy comes through the prism of race or class, because those are two worlds that collided for me growing up. And I guess that’s served me well, because those themes cross over countries and continents. We’re all still dealing with those issues today."

"I spend most of my day screaming — and then over time I get tired and then when I'm tired, I start thinking of the jokes. … That's what I always loved about comedy, it is a way for us to just, you know, to numb the pain, to process what we're going through without feeling every single inkling of it."

"You don't go to South Africa to escape racism. That's where you go to stock up. Are you kidding me, that's the one thing that reminds me of home. The racism out here."

"For me, Donald Trump is an emotional paradox, I'm not gonna lie. Logically, I can process him, emotionally, I struggle. On the one hand, I will admit, I wake up many days terrified at the notion that he's president of the most powerful nation in the world. But I also must admit, I wake up many days knowing he's gonna make me laugh. There's terror and there's joy and I don't know how to feel. You know what it feels like sometimes? It feels like there's a giant asteroid headed towards the earth, but it's shaped like a penis. Like, I think I'm gonna die, but I know I'm gonna laugh."

"We drink to enjoy. The Scottish drink to die."

"So weird, how our prejudices have given everyone their lane. Middle Easterner does something, they're a terrorist. Black person does something, they're gang-related, they're a thug. But if a white guy walks into a church killing nine people there, what do they lead with on the news? "And today, in an isolated incident, a lone gunman walked into a church opening fire and killing nine people." It's always a lone gunman. "A lone gunman with no ties to society whatsoever". They always separate them as quickly as possible."

"Oh it’s a relief to do movies, especially ones like this because you get to be like a little kid again and run around and play in this great adventure. I had a wonderful time."

"I’m so thankful that all that stuff made it to the screen, because a lot of the time studio executives say that there’s no time, or ask why we should feel sympathy for this bad guy. I joke that I’m the romantic lead in the movie, I just happened to pick the wrong girl. Imhotep is kind of the tragic villain, I guess, and a lot of people have come up to me and said I was hating you, but then I reach a point when I was feeling sorry for you too. It's those different facets that help explain why this film is such a success"

"I am one of four people in Johannesburg who drives at the speed limit and pays his fines. The city council has us on six-hour shifts, so it works out."

"If I go before I’m old, Oh brother of mine please don’t forget me if I go. Bartender please, fill my glass for me? With the wine you gave Jesus that set him free, after three days in the ground."

"Excuse me please one more drink. Could make it strong cause I don’t need to think She broke my heart, my Grace is gone. One more drink and I’ll move on. One more drink and I’ll be gone."

"There’s an emptiness inside her And she’d do anything to fill it in. And though it’s red blood bleeding from her now, It’s more like cold blue ice in her heart. She feels like kicking out all the windows, And setting fire to this life. She could change everything about her using colors bold and bright, But all the colors mix together - to grey."

"Take what you can from your dreams, make them as real as anything."

"She prays to God most every night And though she swears he doesn't listen there's a little hope in her he might."

"Move into kiss those sweet sugar lips, baby looks just like love."

"You know she's gonna leave my broken heart behind her."

"A rolling stone, that gathers no moss, but leaves a trail of busted stuff."

"Don't you know when you give life, then you become what you are?"

"We're strange allies, With warring hearts. What wild-eyed beast you be? The Space Between The wicked lies we tell And hope to keep us safe from the pain."

"Without hatred where's the light? Without darkness where's the love?"

"The road to you is long, and I've been on it for a while."

"Look, here are we on this starry night staring into space, and I must say I feel as small as dust lying down here."

"Don't burn the day away."

"Crazy how it feels tonight Crazy how you make it all alright love You crush me with the things you do And I do for you anything too."

"Lying under this spell you cast on me Each moment The more I love you."

"I need so.. to be in your arms, see your smile, hold you close"."

"I was just wondering if you'd come along, Hold up my head when my head won't hold on. I'll do the same if the same is what you want. But if not I'll go... I'll go alone."

"We were walking Just the other day. It was so hot outside, You could fry an egg. Remember you were talking, I watched as sweat ran down your face. Reached up and I caught it at your chin, Licked my fingertips."

"And as you go I will spread my wings. Yes, I will call this home. I have no time to justify to you, Fool, you're blind, move aside for me. All I can say to you my new neighbor, You must move on or I will bury you."

"Come and relax now, put your troubles down. No need to bear the weight of your worries, just let them all fall away."

"The future is no place to place your better days."

"And I can't believe that we would lie in our graves, Dreaming of things that we might have been."

"Now let's make this an evening Lovers for a night, lovers for tonight. Stay here with me, love, tonight. Just for an evening When we make Our passion pictures. You and me twist up, Secret creatures. And we'll stay here. Tomorrow go back to being friends."

"I will go in this way Oh and I'll find my own way out."

"You've got your ball, You've got your chain. Tied to me tight, tie me up again. Who's got their claws In you my friend? Into your heart, I'll beat again. Sweet like candy to my soul, Sweet you rock And sweet you roll. Lost for you, I'm so lost for you."

"Hey my love do you believe that we might last a thousand years or more if not for this?"

"Celebrate we will Because life is short But sweet for certain We're climbing two by two To be sure these days continue."