One person that is my role model is my father. ... He’s a man who taught me something very important. And that was — give back to society what you’ve taken out.

“David, you are going to walk among kings.” This was my mum’s prophecy when I was small. My father is from a royal family in Nigeria, so I interpreted it that way. Remarkably, she was right: I went on to play King Pelasgus, Henry VI, Martin Luther King and Seretse Khama.

But if it did well, I’d remember what my parents told me, which was the hardest thing is not attaining success, it’s being able to endure it.

My mother said — and I didn’t realize how well it works — when I’d bring a drawing to her, she said, “I don’t look at the drawing. I looked at the child, and if the child was excited, I got excited.” And then we could discuss it. Because we were bringing something that meant something to me as a child. And so she would join in my lassitude, or my excitement, or my frustration. She wasn’t a psychologist, but she did understand this simple matter. Also, it accomplishes the only thing that has any meaning to a little child. The only thing an adult can give a child is time. That’s all, there isn’t anything else. That’s the only thing they need, really, is time. If you give them time, you’ll have to be understanding of them and give them time.

I have no team business-wise. I should mention that I have no assistant or team at all.

In one month, two of my old prejudices were reversed. Two things that I was prejudiced against. I am now prejudiced towards, in favor of.

Like at the end of my life, when I can tell that I don’t have long to live, I want to be able to look back and go like, “Wow, I saw the world from many points of view. I did many different things.” That is such a top value for me.

It would be nice if my books were valued greatly, even after my death.

I don’t have any fears.

I have talkative friends. The core of my friendships are curious people. We talk about life. "What do you think of this? Why do people do that? What do you think is the underlying motivation behind the reason that people do this thing?" Just constantly analyzing life.