Ernie Hudson

But my ex-wife, who was then working on her Ph.D., did not want to take the kids, which was a shock to me because I did.

I never heard of anybody not... How do you not take the kids?

But she was serious, and so me and the kids came to Hollywood.

And I came to Hollywood because I have a brother who was there, and I knew that no matter what happened, he would always be sort of a backup.

And I got a little one-bedroom apartment, and I heard a number 1 in 10.

So in my mind, if I can get 1 in 10 interviews, I'm going to be okay.

So there was a lot of rejection, but I never got the 1 in 10.

It was always... I never...

You know, it was always and I think it's just a lot of I talk to a lot of men about taking the responsibility.

I was a little thrown off when I had to take the responsibility of my kids because I thought it would hold me back.

But the truth is, it's the thing that really gave me a certain determination.

I'd go into a meeting and they would say, no, thank you.

And I would go, no, hold up.

We're going to do this again.

because I need this job.

I need to set an example for my sons of what's possible.

I didn't want to say to them, oh, this is America, you can do whatever, and yet I can't live my dream.

So I was just determined.

I think that maybe the biggest thing, and I talk a lot about this, when I didn't have a dad, never knew my father or never met him.

And my grandmother would say that God is my father.