American television, for all its faults, still has a black presence in shows and even in commercials. You'll see black people in automobile ads, black women starring on their own television shows. We don't see that on British television.
In the U.S., these sights are no longer a surprise to me. I see army generals, captains of industry, and politicians of all colours and creeds on American television.
I have always been reasonably anonymous, but I suppose that has gone with the success of 'Homeland.' I feel a lot more visible, which is good and bad. Good because I am getting recognition, but I am slightly apprehensive because I always enjoyed my anonymity.
Studio heads seem to be getting the message that there is not only an audience out there, but there is a desire for people to see people of colour in central roles and in authoritative roles.
I grew up in Birmingham, but my parents are originally from Barbados. My dad, Romeo, was a long-distance lorry driver, and my mother, Mayleen, worked in catering.
My parents came over from Barbados in the late 1950s and early '60s.
For all its problems, I found South Africa a beautiful country, interesting and inspiring.
Back in 2005, the Anthony Nolan Trust could have asked me just to speak out about the lack of ethnic minority donors on the bone marrow register, but that would have meant nothing if I wasn't prepared to join up myself.
I like America; I enjoy being there. Some people can't stand the insincerity - I love the waiter asking me how my day has been, the can-do culture there. I love the fact that again, you are visible in America. You turn the TV on, there are black politicians, black policemen, black soldiers.
On the red carpet, one tip is to suck in your cheekbones - apparently it looks better on camera. I don't know, though; I think a nice smile is best.
To be on set with Tom Hiddlestone and Hugh Laurie is just fantastic. But during 'Homeland,' I was on set with Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, so I'm used to working with big hitters.
I'm a nut for these 'crime reality' shows. Things like 'Forensic Files,' 'Forensic Detectives.'
As soon as you become of interest to the media, the charity requests start rolling in, and it's not easy saying no. But if you endorse every charity that asks you, you're not really endorsing any of them. It has to mean something.
If you're black and have leukemia, the chances of finding a donor are drastically reduced. I added my name to the register, and lo and behold, six months later, I was asked to donate. I had a week of 'conditioning' where I had to take these pills and injections to create new stem cells in my body.
I was always the classroom clown, and the teachers allowed me a certain latitude. The assemblies were good, and the headmaster used to tell little stories; I loved the idea of communal storytelling.
We live on a planet of limited resources - an abstract notion for some of the world's population, but for many of the poorest and most vulnerable, those limits are all too real.
It's been interesting seeing how vulnerable Obama is: not the secure president I thought he was or the strong leader that many people hoped he would be. He's a conciliator. But I've been listening to the Republican primary debates, and they're a bunch of lunatics. Just crazy.
I remember when I first came to Los Angeles being staggered by the range of roles open to me. These were leading parts in shiny new projects, and what always excited me was knowing there was a possibility that I could actually get these parts. I always had the impression that I had a chance.
Working with Olivia Colman has probably been the highlight of my career so far.
My black hero is and always will be Martin Luther King, not just because of the strength of his oratory but because his vision was very much the reality that I'd come to take for granted.
