“For me, being an artist was a thing that, like, rich people in New Yor...” — Cord Jefferson Quote

For me, being an artist was a thing that, like, rich people in New York and L.A. and Paris and Rome did. It wasn't something for me.

When a young black man acts crazily in my presence, I can't help but feel that, secretly, everyone is not only judging him, but also me, for looking like him.

When I think of my mother, I can't help but think of the head-spinning ignorance she endured to marry my dad and have me, from the familial isolation to the sidelong glances to the post-divorce date that ended when her suitor saw my picture and said, 'You didn't tell me you were married to a black.'

New York loves a winner, which is confounding when one considers the inherent, systematic ways it impedes success.

The rocky time came right after I left school. I spent a lot of time at night navigating the streets of Paris trying to find something to eat.

When my kids ask me, 'What did you do when you were 18?' I will tell them I was already at Paris Saint-Germain, that I was already a star and had to stay at home. I'll have my stories about home.

So I'm not really quite sure what Landis' plans were to make another one. The American Werewolf in Paris was a completely separate story.

I love Paris.

Paris Singer had vastly more to do with shaping my character than Mother had; although Mother made innumerable sacrifices for me, and Paris Singer made none. I wanted to be like him.