Spike Lee on Curiosity, Overnight Success, and Why 'Not Everyone Is Denzel Washington'

Spike Lee has never been afraid to speak his mind. Over the last four decades, the Oscar-winning filmmaker has garnered as much fame for his polemics as for directing such classics as She’s Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, and Malcolm X. 

So when we invited him to be a keynote speaker at Talent Connect, LinkedIn’s annual conference for global talent leaders, we knew we’d be in for a treat. 

Perhaps no living artist has done more to promote diversity in their industry than Spike Lee. He’s spent his entire career — which spans more than 30 films, plus countless music videos and TV commercials — exploring themes of race and social justice in America, often putting him at odds with a Hollywood studio system unwilling to tackle the big issues.  

When not in the director’s chair, Spike is a tenured professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, benefactor of a fellowship that provides debt relief to up-and-coming Black filmmakers, and the subject of a new immersive exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum titled “Spike Lee: Creative Sources.”   

When the 66-year-old New Yorker took the stage at Talent Connect in his signature cap and glasses, he was every bit the Spike Lee we expected: unfiltered, unflinching, and unapologetic of his views (starting with a call-out to the audience that Brooklyn is the best borough in New York City).

Spike spoke with Leah Smart, LinkedIn news editor, and Teuila Hanson, LinkedIn’s chief people officer. Here are some of the highlights from their conversations (which have been lightly edited for length and clarity). 

Follow your curiosity

I didn’t choose film, it chose me. Growing up in Brooklyn, I had no idea that I was going to be a filmmaker. At one point, I wanted to play second base for the New York Mets, but genetics got in the way. One day I was visiting a friend of mine who was studying to be a doctor. She had a box in her apartment, and I said, “What’s in the box?” She said it was a Super 8 camera. Her father gave it to her but she had no use for it, so she let me have it. 

That was the summer of 1977, the summer of the blackout. New York was just crazy. I filmed all the stuff happening in the city, came back to school and declared my major: mass communication. And from then on I said, “This is my mission. I want to do film.”

Don’t let anyone kill your dreams

I grew up in an artistic household. My parents never told me and my siblings that you couldn’t do something. And parents kill more dreams than anyone! When parents get that lightning bolt from their children that they want to be a painter, artist, poet, actor, musician, they don’t know what to do. They want their kids to be successful but if they choose another path and you tell them that they can’t make money, you’re killing their dreams. Don’t be the one to do that.

Do what you love and you’ll never have to work

I know people I went to school with who are successful but they’re not happy. When they get up to go to work every day they’ve got to press that snooze button 10 times. So, if you’re in a position to do something that you love and can make money to support your family, keep a roof overhead, food on the table, then you’ve won.

Overnight success is a myth

One of the worst lies that’s been told to young people is that there’s a thing called overnight success. That’s done a lot of damage to people. It’s not like you’re just out there and the hand of God is going to come down from the heavens and say, ‘You are the next one.’ That is BS. You’ve got to make sacrifices to get where you want to be. You might have to wait tables or drive a cab. It’s not going to happen overnight. There are going to be times where you want to cry and you want to quit. You can’t quit. You’ve got to keep going!

How to get the best performance out of your talent

You have to know people’s weaknesses and their strengths. Not everyone is Denzel Washington. A lot of times I’m auditioning someone I’ve never worked with. I want to get a vibe. I want them to know I’m not a dictator. It comes down to trust. I have to trust the actors and they have to trust me.