you. thank you. ♪ tavis: dule hill is enjoying something of a charmed life on television. for the last 13 years, he starred in two back-to-back hits series. the critically acclaimed west wing and now "psych", the usa networks longest running series. one of as many pleasures is the camaraderie between him and his co-star. >> thanks for joining the case. >> not a problem. >> i am sorry of accusing your girlfriend. >> that is cold. i know what it is like to be lonely and single. >> i am not single. you do not seem to be unhealthy had a >> i am sorry. maybe because i walked in and i divorced parents having sex. and my dad sat me down and told me my body was a wonderland. >> are you sure you saw what you think you saw? >> yes, i am positive. what about you? >> you ever walked in on your parents? >> my parents never had sex. it did not have. you are looking at one of god's perfect little miracles. >> what about joy? >> i am not sure she is not adopted. tavis: what do you make of how well this show is running. headed to its eighth season. >> i am humbled.. in awe of the jury. i never thought it would last long. i am amazed that psychos stating case. >> when you say the psychos, you are referring to the fans. >> yes. not a crazy folks. but it can be both. they are crazy for "psych". tavis: you call them psychos. it is fascinating to me how well this show has engaged social media. you would think that because it is such a part of our lives, that every show would have a plan developed for how to do this with their fans. i think everybody is trying to engage in social media. but talk about these psychos and how you guys -- you guys have written a new blueprint for how to engage fans. you have a loyal following. >> i have to take my hat off to usa network. they have really done a great job of staying at the forefront of social media. they have just been creative in ways of, beyond twitter and facebook by creating content that we film in vancouver. sh tagr it is the ha series. tavis: or the pineapple? something happens on every show. >> you have to find in teh show. it's like "where's waldo?" i hate pineapples. it is a delicious flavor. tavis: i watch the show. of will let you explain the pineapple. >> the pineapple came out of the pilot. he improvs, you want me to slice this up. it was in the pilot and pullback in. tavis: was a contest. it became a contest. >> on each episode, where is the pineapple? i would say probably 90% of the time i have no idea where the pineapple is. tavis: the fans are looking for it. it is just a creative thing to keep people coming back every week >> it is fun. beyond what the show is geared and confined up on twitter where was it? -- you can find out on twitter. tavis: how did this happen? you go from a critically acclaimed show like the west wing which runs from multiple seasons itself. and you transition literally right from that to "psych." that just does not happen for brothers every day. >> it does not happen for people in general. i give god thanks for the wonderful blessing. she has definitely put his hands on that area and said, this is yours now. at the age of 15 was the first time i made the goal of wanting to be on television. i did not get the series until i was 23. so i guess patience. tavis: old man. >> 8 years. patience is a virtue. i was thankful that god said, not yet. but when he did, he opened the door. then it is about connecting the dots. from the west wing, allison jannings manager is christopher hennessey. he knew we from the west wing. he was also the executive producer of "psych." that is how that got connected. then body hammer who was the president of usa and is now -- she is so high up i cannot even see her now. she knew me from "bring in da noise, bring in da funk." she puts people in position to connect the dots. tavis: speaking of god doing what he does when he does it in his own time, i was fascinated when i read, fascinated -- fascinated and humbled by the way you handled this. just before you got the west wing, because you could not get any tv gigs, you decided that 15 to do television purity to not get serious until your 23. . >> i was an old man. tavis: during that timeframe, even your agent gave up on you. your agent dropped you. and no sooner had your agent dropped you then the west wing came along. >> my agency. my agent fought for me. the agency dropped me. two months later, a casting director who are tested for year before and los angeles, kevin scott remember me. when the roll came up for west wing, he searched me out. he said, i know this is yours. tavis: does that mean you have to pay the agency fee? >> no,'because i had a new agent. they lost out on that. tavis: they lost out on that. >> but i think they are all right. tavis: how did you process in that two month window before the phone call from the west wing comes, for two months how to process the fact that my agency dropped me? >> you know, it was a crossroads moment. a lot of times in life you come to a crossroads when you have to decide who are you and what are you made of. and i sat back and said -- i my money was gone. i remember telling freddie rpinze. -- oprinze. either i am going to stay with your going back to new jersey because i have no more money. i remember sitting in the apartment. i did not have the couch. i had tb. i sat there with my blinds closed because that is all i have -- i had a tv. really, a year trying to do? i'm going to be an actor spent the rest of my life trying. i do believe there is power in commitment. i do not believe in the fall back plan. if you make a fallback plan, you are going to fall back. if you set your sites, i will keep going. i was determined to be an actor or spend the rest of my life trying. i committed that to myself. after that, god opened up the door. i cannot really take any major credit for it. worked out. i came back and read the second time. and the next time i knew i was acting across from martin sheen. tavis: i like that name tommy schlammy. >> you doing? i'm tommy schlammy. tavis: i have always loved his name. i want to go back to this phrase you used. that hit me and resonated with my spirit. i like the way you phrase it, that there is power in commitment. there is power. how did you come to believe that notion? >> i mean, i guess just life. i do not really know how i came to believe it. years later it was reaffirmed by noah jones. i heard him preach a message on. i guess it came within me. after set your mind on something. it goes back to the scriptures -- a double minded man is unstable and all his ways. after set your gaze, and say, this is where i am going. i will keep pressing towards the mark. if you look back at history, whether it is the civil-rights movement, it is the same thing. in the midst of it, they set their gaze. they may not have reached there, but the movement kept going. we are reaping the benefits of those who came before us. i guess -- as a personal item, i think about my grandparents and journey. they came from to make. like some of the journey of my grandmother's -- they came from jamaica. and to see what they went through to get to new jersey. and as you of my parents went through. he said, they stay committed. they have faith. which in turn has allowed me to even have the chance to say i'm going to be an actor. tavis: that is a lot to go through to get to new jersey. >> but jersey is great. tavis: i said it is a bad joke and i will not use it. as you look back "the west gin did you learn from aaron sorkin. >> it is all about the words. simply, if you are working with good material, it is right there. not have to try so hard or do so much. let the material sit inside you and let come out. say the words. that was the main thing i learned from doing his work. everything else will happen. i'm going to stay right here and go back and forth with it, then the words will take me on the journey. it's like theatre. tavis: i want to come back to theater. one of my favorite place of all time -- "bring in da noise, bring in da funk." i'm thinking about the fact on your first gig, your agency drops you, though sma. two months later, you're on the west wing. get a chance to work with an all-star cast. you are hanging out with martin sheen. martin sheen. >> i was coming to work like, this is crazy. i think within the first month we filled in .d.c and i was playing basketball m martin sheen and rob lowe. with the white house of stone's throw away. i was completely blown away. is this real? tavis: even though god had done for you what your power of commitment brought to you, did you feel intimidated in the process? >> a little bit. yeah. you are working with high caliber actors. i did not want to stick out like a sore thumb. that was my main thing. not stick out as the guy who should not be there. and i knew at the time that i was the only person of color who was a series regular. so i wanted to hold my own. and being a young actor, also, take what was it given to me. tavis: was there a lot of pressure that came with that from others that you put on yourself? >> i do not know that from others. i think for myself in general. and the job that i get is very important to me to handle my business i remember sammy davis said years ago -- he never goes through a door without -- unless he is certain that the door will stay open for others behind me. whatever i have a job it is important for me to handle myself in a way so when there is another young person of color or even someone know who is my age, that they will say, dule was cool. he didn't give attitude. maybe we will do it again. if i went in there and act like a wild man, it could possibly affect the choice next time around. tavis: i heard you really are and wild man. >> only in trinidad. tavis: that's where i heard it. let me go back to -- speaking of trinidad and the music. i'm getting older and i can tell i'm getting older because that time flies by. when i think about and glove and "bring in da noise, bring in da funk, that is the kind of thing that i could see like every week because there are some things -- we like certain movies or songs. they cause something in us to rise up. in my case, there is something about the power of that play that just resonated with me and it made me feel good. i must've seen it 25 times. everytime i see it, i levitate out of the theater. what was that experience like for you? >> again, i have to take my hat off to a lot of people but take my hat off to glove and george wolfe. it was another amazing experience. to be 19, 20, 21 on broadway with nine other young brothers and just hit and being received so well. it was a magnificent experience. tavis: you still tap? >> i don't need tap shoes. i have feet, i can dance. ah, oh. tavis: i love you, man. that's sitting down with out tap shoes. that's one carpet. how did you end up with a love for tap? >> my mom was a teacher at a ballet school. my brother was going there and my cousins. i was following the crowd. i wanted to be around my cousins and my brother. the age of 10, the tap dance kid called. i got it. next i was with stayvon glover in new york. i went on tour and toward a around the country in the national tour with harold nicholas. that's what really started to get me hooked in. i saw his old films and saw what he was doing. i said what i am doing and we are doing our two difference? . he's inspired me to -- to do better. in the was blessed to duke black and blue. with buster brown, all of these legends. diane walker. tavis: how did you process having that kind of access and developing a relationship with these legends? >> at the time, i think i realized it more as the time has gone on -- especially "black and blue." it had bruce brown, linda hopkins. i appreciate it it and it took it all in, but i do not think are really realize the level of talent and just magnificence that i was surrounded by at the time. i was 15 years old. other dancers took it in more. i would love to go back and do it over and taken in more. -- take it in more. a lot of those have left us no. tavis: for many of them, it was the last piece of work. >> it was a great time. could not ask for anything better as a dancer. i talked about before about connecting the dots. "bring in da noise, bring in da funk". i was at school at seton hall. and he needed one more dancer. because we started together, we have been friends ever since. he said, what are you doing? i am doing a show on broadway. it is public, called "bring in da noise, bring in da funk". i was like what? i said, i will see what is up. the next thing i know, i am dancing on broadway. tavis: we talked earlier about the power of commitment. we are on the same page about that. how do you explain being this, i want to get this right, being this wonderful repository of opportunity. so much of what you explained tonight has spent about preparing yourself. you've been ready when the call came. people can call you all day, all week. if you're not ready, it is irrelevant. what you make of -- how do you explain the fact that you have been so blessed by this opportunity which has oftentimes just knocked on your door? >> how do i explain it? tavis: what do you make of that? >> what i tried to do is maximize it. i do not really know. i do not believe that anyone in this world does anything -- everything all by themselves. i do not believe in i pull myself up by my bootstraps. there are too many things that have to happen for me or you to sit here. a matter how talented you are, how focused, millions of things have happened just for you to sit right here. for myself, i look to maximize it. any opportunity, and a blessing, and the door that is open, that is my thing. maximize it. handle your business. cannot play games. because there are many people who would love the opportunity. so i do not try to explain it. i receive it and i am thankful. i am humbled by it. and i tried to do my best with it. i always say, life is not erased. it is not a marathon. it is a really. run your leg of the best way you can. that is what it is about. this was given to me so i will do what i can do so when i handed off, the next person can -- tavis: that is the perfect metaphor. part of what i noticed about your career is so much about it has been collected. most all actors have to work in ensembles, but the work you have done -- the west wing, "psych." "bring in da noise, bring in da funk". "black and blue." all these projects have been collected in nature. >> life is collaborative. it is fun to -- i enjoy working with people. i enjoy it. i always say if you get a group of talented people in the room who have no respect, something brilliant is bound to happen. i get off on just being included. tavis: speaking of collaborative, tell me about the project -- usa united. >> characters united. that goes back to usa. they have done a great job of taking definition in the market. they have been the number 1 cable market. they are saying that we have this platform. what are we going to do with it? chris and bonnie hammer have done a great job of trying to inspire some kind of awareness and change within our society. they have characters unite, which is about tearing down the walls of prejudice in tolars, racism, bullying, homophobia it and to realize that even though we are unique, we are very much the same. peer over the fence and tried to understand it. the last thing they tried to do last month was all i will not stand for. and that is getting people to say what it will not stand for. if you can create a dialogue with in a group of people, you can create change. a little effort, a little change of someone's mind can make a world of difference. tavis: speaking of collaborative working, back to you -- on "psych". whereas season 7 going to take us? >> season 7? first we find out whether henry. died henry. corbin bernson. a lot of people will be thrilled to see what the answer is. then we have our 100th at this. we did the cast of clue. martin mull, leslie and warren. and jeffrey tambour. and we have big show coming. we did a found for this episode about bigfoot. place the bigfoot character. and then we do a musical. we get to sing. tavis: this is so silly. >> is silly -- it is silly. tavis: it works. so how much longer do you think this is going to last? >> gus gets a girl.finally. not just one, he gets 2. good things come to those who wait. you heard me that time. oh, lord. he was like, who? tavis: i ain't mad at you. >> that's why gus has 2 playa phones. tavis: you are doing this thing. seven seasons now. just up for their eighth -- "psych" on the usa network. dule has lived a wonderful and charmed life. i am proud of you and happy for you. you are doing it. thanks, brother. i am glad to have you want. see you next time. that is our show for tonight. good night, from l.a. as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with a man who is tackling one of the toughest jobs in america. that is next time. we will see you then. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminate hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs. >> be more. pbs. >> be more. pbs.