Danny Glover, best known for his portrayal of Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon series, addressed students last night in Eisenhower Auditorium as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series.

Glover began by thanking those who had brought him to Penn State — the Black Caucus, the Graduate Student Association and the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. He also thanked the student activity fee, drawing a laugh from the crowd.

"That's what it said here," Glover protested, also laughing.

As the audience quieted, Glover began to speak.

"I want talk to you tonight about some of the things that I do, not only as an actor, but also as a citizen who has been active all of his life," he said.

Glover did not begin his speech right away, but instead showed the audience a forty-minute pilot episode of a show that he had produced for Fox Family channel. The show, called Courage, told the story of Bob Moses.

Moses worked toward gaining voting rights for African Americans in Mississippi during the 1960s and organized the Freedom Summer of 1964. He lived in Africa for many years, but recently returned to the United States to create "The Algebra Project," which is a program designed to empower youth by teaching them math. Glover is a board member of the project.

"It's about building their self-esteem," Glover said.

Glover said that the episode, as well as the show, was all about showing "ordinary people doing extraordinary things."

After showing the film, Glover read two poems by Langston Hughes — Let America Be America Again and I Dream A World. He used the poems to summarize his feelings about life in America.

Glover only spoke for about 15 minutes. Rather than continuing to speak, he opened the floor to questions.

Although Glover had been talking about racial and diversity issues, the first question from the audience was whether there would be a Predator 3, an inquiry that brought laughs from the audience and Glover alike.

"I don't know. Is there?" Glover said.

Students alternated between asking Glover about his movies, his work for non-profit organizations and his feelings about racial diversity.

"All of the issues in this country have race related to them," said Glover. "It comes down to who has something and who doesn't."

As the questions poured in, Glover said he had backed Ralph Nader in the recent election. He also said he had no faith in either one of the political parties. On a different note, he said he didn't think there would be a Lethal Weapon 5 because "you try to stop at a good thing."

When asked what his favorite movie was, Glover said it was Places in the Heart.

"Places in the Heart was a movie that I dedicated to my mother," said Glover. "It's special to me for that reason."

A student asked Glover about his involvement with the late Tupac Shakur, noting that Glover had collaborated with him on a previous album. Glover said he first met Shakur when the rap artist was 16 years old, and that he had the utmost respect for Shakur as an artist, but it was Glover's 24-year-old daughter who really loved his music.

As expected, many of the questions had to do with Glover's work in Lethal Weapon.

"Lethal Weapon has been very important for me, because it has allowed me to do things that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise," said Glover.

Glover spoke about his work with non-profit organizations.

"I try to use my visibility to change perceptions and ideas," he said. "Talking with you is a way for me to demystify what I do and what I'm about."

Glover spoke about how pleased he was to be at the university.

"Penn State is a campus with potential for thought-provoking dialogue," he said.