"You know, my father used to say, whatever you do, do it 100%. When you work, work. When you laugh, laugh. When you eat, eat like it's your last meal."

"It's like what your friend the President said, "Ask not... Your country, what you could do for it. Ask what you do for yourself." Y'know?"

"The world is full of lonely people afraid to make the first move."

"Yes, I live in a castle, Tony! Alone. And rich white people pay me to play piano for them because it makes them feel cultured. But as soon as I step off that stage, I go right back to being just another negro to them. Because that is their true culture. And I suffer that side alone, because I'm not accepted by my own people 'cause I'm not like them, either. So if I'm not black enough and if I'm not white enough and if I'm not man enough then tell me, Tony, what am I!?"

"Linda Cardellini – Dolores Vallelonga"

"Montrel Miller – Birmingham Hotel Waiter"

"Claudio Laniado - Dr. Pearlman"

"Mary J. Blige - Florence Jackson"

"Jonathan Banks - Pappy McAllan"

"Rob Morgan - Hap Jackson"

"Jason Mitchell - Ronsel Jackson"

"Kelvin Harrison Jr. - Weeks"

"[narrating] What good is a deed? My grandfathers and great uncles, grandmothers and great aunts, father and mother, broke, tilled, thawed, planted, plucked, raised, burned, broke again. Worked this land all they life, this land that never would be theirs. They worked until they sweated. They sweated until they bled. They bled until they died. Died with the dirt of this same 200 acres under their fingernails. Died clawing at the hard, brown back that would never be theirs. All their deeds undone. Yet this man, this place, this law... say you need a deed. Not deeds."

"[eulogizing over the elder McAllan] Man who is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower and is cut down. He fleeth as a shadow and continueth not. And doth thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again. But man dieth and wasteth away. As the waters fell from the sea and drieth up, so man lieth down and riseth not. 'Til the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep."

"Violence is part and parcel of country life. You're forever being assailed by dead things. Dead mice, dead rabbits, dead possums. You find them in the yard. You smell them rottin' under the house. And then there are the creatures you kill for food. Chickens, hogs, deer, frogs, squirrels. Pluck, skin, disembowel, debone, fry. Eat, start again, kill. I learned how to stitch up a bleeding wound... load and fire a shotgun... reach into the womb of a heavin' sow to deliver a breeched piglet. My hands did these things... but I was never easy in my mind."

"[leaving for war] Daddy borrowed Mr. Robert and 'nem truck to take me. That's what I remember most. The first things and the last things... they always stick the hardest."

"Florence Jackson: [narrating] No, I don't have favorites. I love them all equally. Every mother does."

"[narrating] I was a 31-year-old virgin when I met Henry McAllan in the spring of 1939. I lived with my parents in the house I grew up in. My world was small, and he was my rescuer from a life in the margins."

"[narrating] Should my story end there? Silenced and defeated? Oppression, fear, deformity. It would take an extraordinary man to beat all that. I would have to wean myself off laudanum and self-pity... and travel with a little card in my shirt pocket that said "mute."And then, finally... I would have to cross the Atlantic yet again. This time not for war. But for love."

"Carey Mulligan - Laura McAllan"

"[narrating] My great-great-granddaddy and his slaves built the farm that I grew up on. One time my granddaddy told me to go out, grab a handful of dirt from the yard and bring it in. He said, "What are you holdin', son?" And I said, "Dirt." "That's right. Now give it to me." So I did, and he says, "Now what's this I've got in my hand?" "Dirt," I says. "No, boy, this is land that I've gotten. Do you know why? Because I own it. Because it's mine. And one day, it'll be yours.""

"Garrett Hedlund - Jamie McAllan"

"Kennedy Derosin - Lilly May Jackson"

"Jason Clarke - Henry McAllan"

"Tony Espinosa - young Nat Turner"

"Jayson Warner Smith - Hank Fowler"

"- Joseph Randall"

"- Raymond Cobb"

"- Bridget Turner"

"- Elizabeth Turner"

"Steve Coulter - General Childs"

"- Rev. Walthall"

"- Hark Turner"

"- Nancy Turner"

"- Samuel Turner"

"[preaching to slaves after watching a horrific scene between a slave and slave owner] Brethren, I pray you'll sing to the Lord, a new song. Sing praise in assembly of the righteous. Let the saints be joyful in glory, let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praise of God be on the mouths of the saints and a two-edged sword in their hand to execute vengeance on the demonic nations! And punishment on those peoples! To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fens of iron! To execute on them this written judgement! This honor have all his saints! PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE THE LORD! SING TO HIM A NEW SONG! PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE THE LORD!"

"Bridget Turner: To watch a strong man broken down is a terrible thing."

"- Isaac Turner"

"Elizabeth Turner: These books are for white folks. They're full of things your kind wouldn't understand."

"- Cherry Turner"

"Casey Kress - Ben a (kid)"

"Stephen Root - Jim Hudson"

"Erika Alexander - Detective Latoya"

"LaKeith Stanfield - Andre Hayworth / Logan King"

"Marcus Henderson - Walter"

"Betty Gabriel - Georgina"