Ving Rhames
Ving Rhames
Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhamesis an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Out of Sight, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, Dawn of the Dead, Rosewood, Con Air, and as Luther Stickell in the Mission: Impossible film series...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth12 May 1959
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
spike
I'm from New York, and yet I've done only one film executive-produced by Spike Lee and have never done a film that Spike Lee directed. I've never done a film that Keenan Wayans has directed, or Bill Duke.
choose chose god hand life reason
I'm a God-fearing man, and I know the only reason why I am here going from poverty to where I am now is God has His hand on my life. I tell people, 'I didn't choose acting; God chose me to act.'
bit business buy christ gave god jesus organized quite religion sermon sold word
I think quite a bit of organized religion has become big business. Jesus Christ never sold the word of God. He never gave a sermon and then said, 'For $8.99, you can buy the CD.'
couple days invited spent studied watched
I spent three days with Don King, and I interviewed 45 people. I studied his speech, his mannerisms. He invited me to a couple of fights, and I watched him.
expand found grew kids travel urban
I grew up in Harlem in New York, very rough, urban environment, and so what I found is that, if I can have kids travel to different places, countries, areas, it can expand their minds.
act graduated
I graduated college in 1983, so that's 32 years, and all I've done for a living is act or commercials or voiceovers. So I have nothing to complain about.
art bring call grown
I don't know if I hadn't grown up poor, and in the neighborhood I did, if I would have had that much to bring to my art form. I call upon my past with characters.
cut experience human integrate
How do you cut off the human side and just maintain being professional? So what I've done is I've incorporated that with Kojak - there's times when he allows the human condition, the human experience, to integrate into him as a professional.
bill draw fuss gonna human later passed sooner
There's gonna be a bill passed sooner or later that's gonna draw a line. We have to just think about, 'What have we become? Why is all of this fuss over another human being?
dollars love million success
You don't have to make, you know, $3 Million dollars a movie, or $20 Million dollars a movie, but if you make a living doing what you love doing, then that's success to me.
children media poverty
I grew up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood, but I didn't really know I was a deprived, poverty-stricken child until the media made me aware of it.
deals ifs intimidated
Are you intimidated by me? Because if you're intimidated by me, that's something you'll have to deal with.
giving limits hollywood
I don't give Hollywood the power to limit me. Only God can limit me.
football teacher art
Quite honestly I never had a desire to be an actor. I tell people, I did not choose acting; acting chose me. I never grew up wanting to be an actor. I wanted to play football. In about 9th grade an English teacher told me I had a talent to act. He said I should audition for a performing arts high school so I did on a whim. I got accepted.