I love big biographies, like “Grant,” Ron Chernow’s new 1,100-pager, and Walter Isaacson’s great book on Leonardo da Vinci. I take two or three years to go through ‘em, but I read three or four at a time. I like to go back and forth between Audible and my Kindle app, where I take notes and underline things.
I like to travel simply with a small Bric’s Bellagio carry-on spinner suitcase and its companion duffel that slips over the handle. I love to be able to pack things real tightly and just roll in there.
I have to have my camera when I walk out of the house. I’ve got a Sony AZS2 camera with a Sony Sel247oz lens. I’m always shooting on set. When I was doing “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” they didn’t have a set photographer most of the time, so the producers paid me for shots. I did the same thing when I was on Broadway with Tom Hanks in “Lucky Guy.” It’s a great ice breaker.
When my mother was alive we binge-watched everything on Netflix. I’d go down to our guesthouse, where she stayed, and watch shows with her. After “Breaking Bad” had gotten all its Emmys and was off the air, I said, “I think my mother may like this.” She was glued.
I bought a Dahon Helios folding bike in 2003 when I was doing “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” There was no Uber back in the day. Black man in New York, you try to hail a cab at certain times of the day, it ain’t happening. So, I had my folding bike. It’s nice to tool around town, get some air and take some pictures.
I didn’t feel like putting a thousand down and reserving a Tesla, so I got a 2017 Chevy Bolt (similar model shown). It’s the best car I’ve ever had. It gets 230 miles to the charge, but people only drive 40, maybe 50 miles a day, so you just top off. No more gas. No more maintenance. It’s quick and roomy inside. My kids love it. It’s perfection.
I have an iPhone 6 S and I like my white earbuds—with the cord. I don’t like that they’re driving us to Bluetooth. The phone doesn’t have a jack for the headphones. That bugs me. They should give us the option to be able to do both for a little while.
—Edited from an interview by Chris Kornelis