Football was everything to me. There was the physical aspect, sure. I did pushups and sit-ups every night, even as a kid. But I also just studied the game constantly. It was my life.

Many do with opportunities as children do at the seashore they fill their little hands with sand, and then let the grains fall through, one by one, till all are gone.

The common perception is it only happens to people who aren't paying attention.

Acting has helped me detox in football. Getting lost in a character and a scene, it's awesome.

When you see a black guy on TV, he's always a thug or always portrayed as someone that's in trouble. It spreads the message to everyone else that that's who we are. People often don't try to understand black men as a whole. We're creative, strong and influential.

My inspiration is my hometown.

I feel like there's no such thing as failure. When something doesn't go the way I want it to, I learn from it, and I accomplish more than I initially expected to.

You're whatever you think you are. People like to compartmentalize other people. I don't worry about what other people think. I'm not living for them.

I look at failure as the fertilizer to success.

The hardest thing I've had to overcome was being from my small coal-mining town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. My mother was a coal miner for nineteen years, and the expectations of making it out of my town were slim to none.

I took care of my body. Your body is your business in the NFL.

My father played in high school. My uncles played. From age five or six, I remember watching all the games. And I remember saying to my mom and dad even then that I was going to play in the NFL, and buy them a house and a car.

No one had ever made it big from my town until I was able to make it to the NFL and now the big screen. The journey from my town to where I am now has taught me how to be resilient and fearless, and for that I will forever be grateful.

While I was in the NFL, I would eat five times a day. I only eat twice a day now, and I box and play basketball every day. I'm extremely happy with my body and mind...