纽约时报 莱瓦尔·伯顿谈他的新挑战(4)（在线收听）

I might sprinkle in another, so be ready. OK, your two great acting roles were in "Roots" and "Star Trek." In between those two shows, you started doing "Reading Rainbow." Those projects were all so indelible in their way that I could imagine being pigeonholed was a problem. Did being so closely associated with those three shows make it hard to achieve your full potential as an actor? Everything after "Roots" has been a process of figuring out, What does this mean? Or at least it used to be. What does it mean that I got this? What does it mean that I didn't get that? The what-does-it-mean game is one that I had to get over if I was ever going to achieve equanimity in my life. The real truth that I have come to recognize is that everything that is supposed to be for me comes to me. If it doesn't come my way, it wasn't meant for me. It's all perfect in its design and execution. I mean, the idea that I'm still here 45 years after "Roots"? I'm not only still here but I'm still making a contribution. Those times in the past when I felt like I wasn't getting my due, out of jealousy or ego — that's natural, but it's self-destructive. I learned how to minimize my response to those feelings to the point where I rarely have them anymore. When I didn't get certain acting jobs, it forced me to develop other skill sets, and that was obviously part of the plan because now I'm able to do what I do as an actor, writer, producer, director, podcaster, storyteller, public speaker. It all happened perfectly because here I am. I feel like this life is a gift. I used to wonder what it was that I did in previous lifetimes to deserve it. How did my soul get here? This is hard to put into words: There are times when I experience my life as having been for a specific purpose. I look at Kunta. I look at Geordi. I've been able to express humanity as enslaved in the past and as free in the future and do it as a completely liberated Black man. It's kind of mind-blowing.

我可能还会再问个问题，所以请做好准备。好，你在《根》和《星际迷航》中扮演了两个伟大的角色。在这两部剧集之间，你开始主持《阅读彩虹》节目。这些项目都是如此不可磨灭，以致于我可以想象被归类是一个问题。与这三部作品的联系如此紧密，是否让你很难充分发挥自己作为演员的潜力？答：《根》之后的一切都是弄明白“这意味着什么”的过程。或者至少以前是这样。我得到这份工作意味着什么？没有得到那份工作意味着什么？如果我要在在我的生活中获得平静，我就必须克服“这意味着什么”游戏。我逐渐认识到的真正事实是，所有应该属于我的东西都会来到我身边。如果我没有得到，那就不该属于我。它的设计和执行都非常完美。《根》播出之后45年我还在这个行业？我不仅在这个行业保持活跃，而且也在做贡献。过去有些时候，出于嫉妒或自负，我会认为自已没有得到应得的，这是很自然的想法，但这也是自我毁灭。我学会了如何最小化我对这些感觉的反应，以至于我很少再有这些感觉。当我没有得到某些表演工作时，这会迫使我发展其他技能，这显然是计划的一部分，因为现在我能够做的工作包括演员、作家、制片人、导演、播客主播、故意讲述者、演说家等。这一切都发生得很完美，因为我依然活跃。我认为这种生活是一份礼物。我曾经想知道我前世做了什么才配得到这种生活。我的灵魂是如何来到这里的？这很难用语言来表达：有时我觉得我的生活是为了一个特定的目的。我看着昆塔。我看着格奥尔迪。我能够作为一个完全解放的黑人来表达人性过去被奴役而未来会获得自由。这有点令人兴奋。