Between Omar Little in The Wire, Chalky White in Boardwalk Empire and Tariq Khalil in Inherent Vice, Michael K. Williams has made a name for himself playing gangsters. Smart, sophisticated, sometimes even sensitive, gangsters, but gangsters nonetheless.

Does this amount to him being typecast? The man himself explores this in a new video for The Atlantic, in which he chews the issue over with versions of himself varying from cynical to optimistic.

Skilfully put together, the video (above) delves into deeper issues of race, particularly in this exchange:

“Face it man look: We from a certain type of people, that come from a type of place, that look a type of way. You know what that makes us?”

“Black.”

“Typecast.”

“If I were typecast I’d be in jail or dead. But I’m here. I got out. Got myself out.

“You sure about that?”